Secret of the Amulet
by Kitty Kat22
Summary: Harry&Co. helps a new girl at Hogwarts (an airy, cheery gal) complete her task of retrieving an amulet. She joins forces with American CIA agent and tries to rid the world of evil with the world's most powerful weapon--the amulet. There's a twist; her all


|Chapter One | |Summer Visit | | | |Ring....ring....ring... | |"Hello? Vernon Dursley speaking." Harry's "dear" uncle picked up | |the phone. It was a fortnight till term started and Harry was | |getting over ecstatic already. He peered curiously over at his | |uncle to hear whom it was he was speaking to because no one | |usually called during 8:45 AM on Saturdays. | |There was a long pause. He heard Uncle Vernon ask who it was. | |Another long silence. Then Uncle Vernon, in an almost professional| |voice said: "Over the rest of the whole summer? Are you sure your | |family's all right with that? Harry's a bit of a troublemaker and | |he's very-" | |Harry's heart skipped a beat. He was sure it was Ron Weasley, his | |best friend in the world. Harry then wondered when Ron learned how| |to use a telephone the right way. | |"Hmm...well... Over to pick him up? When? Oh, I see. A Honda | |Odyssey, really? Well, all right, it's settled. Yes, bye." | |There was a click on the phone. Harry raised his eyebrows. It was | |very strange for Uncle Vernon to sound this friendly - especially | |to one of Harry's friends. He approached Harry in the living room.| |Harry looked up curiously. | |"Yes, Uncle Vernon?" He tried his best to act innocent and polite.| | | |"One of your friends invited you to stay over for the rest of | |summer break. I decided to let you go ahead, since we don't want | |you in our way anyways. I'm just glad one of your weirdo friends | |learned how to use a telephone the right way." He said gruffly. | |Harry leapt up with joy. His luck had swerved a great turn all of | |a sudden. Ron invited him over, the Dursleys don't mind at all and| |school is almost about to begin. What could possibly be better? | |"Wow, great! Did Ron mention when he's picking me up?" Harry was | |running halfway up the stairs, not actually caring if he answered | |his question or not when Uncle Vernon spoke. | |"Ron? Who's that? The person on the phone was a young lady." He | |corrected. Harry stopped running. | |"Girl? Oh, I should've guessed! Hermione! Come to think of it, | |I've never been over to her house before. " He started pacing | |again. | |"No, stop guessing, you silly boy. She told me her name clearly. | |It was Kathy. Kathy Dialent." Uncle Vernon looked slightly annoyed| |at Harry's excited guessing game. This stopped Harry right in his | |tracks. | |"Kathy? Oh.well, that could be sort of interesting..." Harry was | |used to living around guys. Hermione was an exception. He | |considered this for another minute. | |"Just as well, I'll be with one of my friends and away from the | |Dursleys." Harry said quietly. | |That afternoon, Harry piled his enormous trunk, his cage with | |Hedwig in it and a small bag with wizard money inside. He rubbed | |his hands together, unable to contain the excitement inside. | |Although sadly, Harry was the only one in the house who felt that | |way. | |It seemed as if the prospect of having a visitor come to the | |Dursely household (especially one of Harry's friends) was quite | |extraordinary. The family hadn't had another visitor for a long | |time now. | |They gathered around the living room, waiting for their "guests" | |to arrive to pick their nephew up. Suddenly, Uncle Vernon spoke | |up, causing Harry to snap out of his daydreams. | |"Is your friend going to arrive here the "normal" way? Or are they| |coming by means of using our fireplace again?" He asked this with | |a sort of scorn on his face. As the mere memory of the Weasley's | |encounter the year before still gave him nightmares. Well, Harry | |hadn't given this thought until now, if truth were told. But he | |didn't suspect that Kathy would use Floo Powder. | |"Er-I'm pretty sure she's arriving here normally." He answered. | |Just as he said that, a loud BEEP sounded from outside their | |house. The next minute, their doorbell rang too. Uncle Vernon | |rushed to reach the door first before Harry. He opened it gently | |and cautiously. | |"Uh-hi! Pleased to meet you. I'm Kathy's father, Daniel Dialent. | |Kathy's told us lots 'bout Harry already, and I'm sure you've | |heard stories about my daughter as well from him." | |A tall, lean man in his mid-thirties with smooth black hair, | |sunglasses and khaki shorts stuck out a hand. Uncle Vernon, (to | |Harry's surprise), actually shook his hand, though reluctantly. | |"Hello then, Vernon Dursley. This is my wife, Petunia and my son | |Dudley." He introduced. Dudley gave a tiny, quivering wave from | |behind his massive father. | |Harry didn't even notice that a rather small, slim girl with | |short, auburn, copperish-brown hair and silver sunglasses, wearing| |crisp white shorts and a baby-blue tank top was smiling at him | |standing beside her father. She was Kathy Dialent. | |"Hi, I'm Kathy. You must be Harry's uncle." She too, stuck out her| |right hand (with a sterling silver ring on each finger), waiting | |to be introduced. However, Uncle Vernon did not shake her hand but| |invited them in instead. Harry hurriedly grabbed all his | |belongings and was no later joined in by Kathy's dad, who lifted | |up his trunk. | |"Thanks." Harry said. | |"No prob. So you got all your stuff, Harry?" Mr. Dialent asked him| |in a warm, friendly tone. | |"That's it." He replied, smiling. | |Kathy and her dad turned to face Harry's family. | |"Well, we'll be off then. Pleasure meeting you all, bye now." With| |that, they trailed out on the Dursley's sidewalk to Kathy's | |minivan. The Dursleys were watching them closely. They did not | |notice that Uncle Vernon was walking with them until he commented | |about their car. | |"Nice car you got there. Honda Odyssey.That's a Japanese Model.I | |was considering about getting one of those myself, but since we | |rarely ever go out on family vacations anymore." | |Harry didn't pay attention to the rest of his uncle's words. It | |seemed normal that he liked to judge other men on how big and | |expensive their cars were, but he was actually complimenting them | |too. | |Finally, they stopped talking and both Harry and Kathy climbed | |into the spacious interior of her car. Kathy lived in London and | |it was about two and half-hours before they got home. During their| |pleasant drive, Kathy filled Harry in on how she decided to invite| |him over (it turned out to be Hermione's idea, seeing that Harry | |had given her his phone number in their 2nd year at Hogwarts). | |"Oh! Hermione's already at your house?" Asked Harry, who was | |slightly taken aback. | |"Yep. Of course, I tried to invite Ron over too, but his mom told | |me he was grounded. It was something about sneaking a dog in for a| |pet without her permission. Hmm.I was meaning to ask him about | |that." Explained Kathy. | |"Yeah, tragic as that was, now you're going to be the only male in| |our house besides me. Girls will surround us both. There will be | |Kathy, her mom and Hermione. Oh geez.it'd be more than enough for | |us to handle, right Harry?" Kathy's dad mused. He had to duck | |because Kathy aimed a small cushion at his head. | |At the end of the trip, Harry had become very fond of Kathy's | |animated father. He was the exact image of how a standard father | |should be. He was extremely funny, friendly, caring, clever and | |contained a touch of fatherly affection. Harry sighed longingly. | |If only he had gotten to know what his own father was like. | |As soon as they reached the front steps of Kathy's huge, | |mansion-like, ancient castle-ish house, Hermione burst through the| |front door and held Harry in a tight embrace. He was taken aback | |once again. | |"Glad to see to you too, Hermione." He croaked. Hermione smiled | |openly. | |"Kathy, your house reminds me of Hogwarts already." Harry gazed at| |it with wonder. | |Chapter Two | |Term Has Started | |"Kathy, I want to thank you again for letting me stay at your | |house. It was very nice of you and your family. I had such a | |marvelous time." Hermione thanked her, while they were getting | |ready to go on the Hogwarts Express train for their 6th year at | |Hogwarts. They sat together in their usual compartment on the | |train. | |"Yea. Thanks a lot, Kathy. It's been great staying over. No one | |knows how to have fun more than you do. Your family's so nice, and| |your dad's jokes are great too. Wish there was some-" | |Ron cut off Harry. "Oh, shut it, you two! Stop trying to make me | |feel bad now that both of you have gone to Kathy's house for one a| |half weeks without me." Ron complained bitterly. Kathy looked | |sympathetically over at him. | |"I tried persuading your mom. But, uh - she was very persistant. | |Anyways! What was that all about, sneaking a dog into your house? | |" Kathy remembered asking. | |"Oh.that." Ron grinned sheepishly. "Well, I was de-gnoming the | |garden when this stray white husky came over and started licking | |me spontaneously. And he was kinda cute, so I wanted to keep him. | |Of course, mum found out and made me swear not to keep it. | |Except-" Ron cautiously pulled out an old cage from under his | |other luggage. Hermione's eyes widened. | |"Ron! You didn't keep that dog! " | |"I did. So what? I mean, she's not going to be at Hogwarts, spying| |on me, is she?" | |"Still, just think-" Hermione didn't finish lecturing Ron because | |someone distracted her. | |"Hey, Draco! How you bin doin', dog?" Kathy greeted him | |cheerfully. Sure enough, Draco Malfoy appeared in their | |compartment. Although this time, his thuggish cronies weren't | |accompanying him. Instead, he seemed to be by himself. Draco had | |grown a few inches and was about the same height as Ron now. He | |smirked. "There are no dogs around here, Kathy." | |Ron's face coloured as he said that and he ducked behind Harry. | |"But a hello to you too, Kat." | |Kathy smiled widely. "Good one." | |"It's just because you're a fellow Slytherin." He added, glancing | |swiftly over at Harry, Ron and Hermione, who didn't seem to share | |the gist of the joke. | |Draco's sleek white-blond hair was starting to have more colour, | |making his hair look more "dirty" blond. His skin certainly wasn't| |as pale as before, and his eyebrows grew darker. This definitely | |gave him a "tall, dark, and handsome" look. Kathy noticed this all| |and grinned. | |"Hey...you dyed your hair, Dialent. Nice...copper auburn looks | |sophisticated on you." He said dryly. Perhaps he still wasn't | |completely ready to forgive Kathy for dumping him last year. | |"What do you want, Malfoy? If you're looking for trouble, it's not| |here-" Harry started. But Draco didn't seem to be looking for | |trouble. | |"Oh, no. No trouble for me. I just want to introduce a new friend | |of mine. Meet Trent Beauteem, an exchange student from | |'Hillfidger', the American school of Witchcraft and Wizardry." | |Draco indicated to the boy standing behind him with a flourish of | |his hand. | |Trent definitely caught Kathy's eye. He was very tall, with dark, | |deep brown eyes framed with thin-rimmed, stylish black glasses. He| |had a cold smile and very luscious black hair to go along with it.| |Ron eyed him suspiciously. | |"Hi. Are all of you Sixth Years too?" He asked in a crisp, clear | |voice dripping with a thick, carefree American accent, just like | |Kathy's. | |"Are you really from the US? God, I miss it there so much, what's | |been going on?" Kathy immediately greeted him with her usual | |cheerfulness, as if Trent was an old friend. | |"You were from the US, too? That's cool, we should have a lot in | |common then. I hope to see you all around sometimes at Hogwarts. | |It sounds like a pretty nice school. It's been cool meeting you | |all. So.I'll see you guys around." He waved goodbye politely | |although neither Ron, Harry nor Hermione returned his wave. When | |they both left, they started talking again. | |"I like him." Kathy simply concluded. | |"Seems a bit dodgy to me." Ron said, still eyeing their | |compartment door. | |"Definitely strange. Where did a nice-mannered boy come from and | |how did he become friends with Malfoy?" Hermione questioned. | |"Yea, and where the heck are Crabbe and Goyle? They're always with| |Malfoy." Harry said. Kathy pretended she didn't hear. | |"He seems all right to me. Plus, Malfoy's not that rude or evil | |looking as before. He even complimented my hair. " Kathy sniffed. | |"That was sarcasm. He didn't mean what he said. Though I truly | |think the colour looks very appealing on you." Ron said. Kathy | |beamed. | |"Why, thank you, Ron. But see here, you guys are all judging him | |even before you got to know what he's really like. Don't judge a | |book by its cover! Haven't you heard that before?" | |"Hey, we were right about Snape and Professor Trelawney, weren't | |we? I had loads of first-impression judgements about them and they| |were all correct. " Ron said. | |"Hmm... Here, let's make a bet. If Trent turns out to be seriously| |evil and totally two-faced, I'll take everyone to my house again | |and we'll party. But if I'm right, and Trent really is an okay | |guy, all three of you will face three days of having to do my | |homework. Okay?" Kathy challenged. | |"Fine. Get your house ready, because we'll be coming soon enough."| |Ron said with confidence. They had been talking for such a long | |time, that everyone had failed to realize that their lovely little| |train ride was over. The Hogwarts Express stopped and the majestic| |sight of the colossal castle of Hogwarts came into view. | |"Firs' years o'er 'ere!" Came the booming voice of Hagrid, the | |keeper of game and grounds at Hogwarts. Hermione, Kathy, Harry and| |Ron stepped into the entrance of the castle shivering. The weather| |was very cold for a light summer evening. But as soon as they | |arrived at the Great Hall, a huge banquet awaited them, complete | |with candles hanging in midair and a deep velvety violet enchanted| |ceiling. | |"Welcome! To another year at Hogwarts. I hope everyone had a | |pleasant summer vacation and are all well prepared to come back | |and learn. I would like to introduce our new Potions teacher, | |Professor Clark Kinesse." Dumbledore announced as soon as everyone| |was seated and listening. | |At this, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Kathy gasped. Kathy spoke up. | |"If he's the Potions teacher.then Snape-" | |"Would be our Defense against the Dark Arts teacher." Dumbledore | |finished before Kathy. Ron made a face. "So he didn't get sacked."| | | |"Professor Snape has kindly filled in the place of Professor | |Delacour and will teach with new vigor now that he finally | |fulfilled his desired position." There were a few scattered sounds| |of applause. | |The Sorting Ceremony had gone quite quickly and the golden plates | |and goblets filled up magically with the most scrumptious food. | |Everyone ate to their hearts desire, and so, tummies bulging with | |delicious dinner, the Gryffindors and Kathy all filed into their | |common room. The portrait of the Fat Lady asked for their | |password. | |"It's 'dragon's eye'." Informed Hermione. | |"It's nice having a Prefect among us. You could give us 'special' | |permission, you know." Ron winked at her. | |"What was the password again, Hermione?" Kathy walked stealthily | |over to her. | |"Oh, it was.hey! You're a Slytherin! How dare you? Intruding in on| |our private property-" | |Kathy waved her hand aside. "Sorry, Miss Book-of-Rules. Excuse moi| |for wanting to talk with her friends tonight. I guess I'm just not| |welcome here." Kathy said airily and stepped haughtily away. | |"Well.technically speaking.you aren't, Kathy. Gryffindors don't | |exactly have a buddy-buddy relationship with you guys yet. Maybe | |in the future." Ron said, patting her on the shoulder, signaling | |her time to leave. Kathy looked shrewdly back. | |"Uh-huh." Kathy murmured, unconvinced. "If I were Cho Chang, you'd| |probably sneak me in here every night, right Harry?" | |Harry gaped at her open-mouthed. | |"How do you know about-" | |"Is there anything that I don't know about that happens around | |here?" | |Harry continued to stare at Kathy, more surprised than | |embarrassed. | |"Good night, y'all." She waved heartily and skipped off towards | |the Slytherin Common Room. On the way there, Kathy sighed to | |herself. | |"I love my life." She gazed contently at the tall, endless ceiling| |and couldn't help grinning a grin that she had been suppressing | |for some time. | |Chapter Three | |Defense Against the Dark Arts (and Snape) | |"Our first fair Potions class. This is gonna be an eye-opener. I'm| |so glad that Slytherin's double-teaming with you guys. This way we| |can meet him together. I hope he's hot. Too bad he wasn't at the | |feast." Said Kathy hopefully the next day. | |"I know. Even his name sounds poetic. I'm so sick of Snape." | |Hermione agreed. Ron rolled his eyes. | |"Girls." He muttered vaguely. | |They stepped into the all-too-familiar dungeon of Professor | |Snape's old classroom only to meet the rest of the class and the | |new teacher. Kathy seemed dazed. This teacher (or celebrity, | |seemed more like it), had swirling jungle-green eyes, gleaming | |silver glasses, the straightest nose Kathy had ever seen, | |jet-black hair slicked slightly with gel and a handsome, tall | |build. | |"Hello. Welcome to my class." He gave them a dazzling sparkling | |smile that revealed flawless white, even teeth and shook Kathy's | |hand. She too, smiled numbly. | |"I will be teaching you the true skills of potion-making this | |school year. But along with that, don't consider me as a teacher, | |because I'm not just a teacher - I was once a student too, ya | |know. So I'll not only be everyone's beloved teacher, I'll also be| |your friend. And I don't like being called 'Professor'. It bugs | |me. I prefer Mister Clark, or Kinesse. Now, this is the Gryffindor| |and Slytherin team, right?" | |A few people nodded. "Right. I want to learn your names quickly, | |so I'm assigning assigned seats. Don't give me any of that 'eww.so| |and so has cooties, I can't sit with him'. God, I hate it when | |kids do that. But you guys aren't like that, are you?" | |The class smiled nervously and shook their heads. | |"Okay good, off to business." | |Kathy raised her hand. "Mr. C, do you know anything about the war | |that's about to take place?" | |The class muttered tensely to each other, no one having the | |slightest clue in what Kathy was talking about. | |"Yeah, actually, I do. Bush hasn't taken any drastic action as of | |now. But count on a war happening. You could tell from my accent | |that I was from the US, right? And yes, feel free to address me | |with 'Mr. C.' too. Well, that makes two of us, doesn't it.uh -" He| |glanced quickly down at the seating chart. "Uh.Kathy? There we | |go." Mr. C grinned. She nodded and grinned back. | |The other students in class casted her with weird glances. | |"Americans." Muttered Draco, not understanding a word that Mr. | |Kinesse had just said. | |At the end of class, it was clear that Mr. C. had gotten many | |compliments as the friendliest teacher yet. They had no homework | |that night from him, but tons from Professor Snape. It did truly | |seem that Snape was quite good at teaching Defense against the | |Dark Arts. The problem was that he knew too much about it. | |Therefore, it increased their homework load by a significant | |amount. But since he finally got the job he fantasized forever | |about getting, Snape was in a good mood throughout the first whole| |week of school. | |There was also lots of talk about the new boy, Trent, who was in | |Slytherin. Many thought this was a pity because he was not like | |the others in his House. Slytherin was thought to be the most evil| |House of Hogwarts, but its reputation has begun to lose its | |potency with each following year. | |When Kathy first arrived in Hogwarts for her Fifth Year, | |Dumbledore made special arrangements for her to begin halfway | |through her magical education. Which meant that Kathy didn't have | |to suddenly flunk down to Years One to Four. Instead, she started | |with a clean slate. The tutelage at Hogwarts was accumulative, but| |Kathy got along all right in her Fifth Year, completing it | |successfully and therefore turned the tides that were against her.| | | |So on that first day of school here, Kathy was selected to be in | |the infamous Slytherin House, and most people were shocked at the | |Hat's decision. She seemed like the last person that should be | |sorted there. Kathy's personality resembled a slender ray of | |sunshine. Her laughter was just as bright, her choices were just | |as strong and her good humor lightens everyone up when they're | |down. Some thought the Hat probably used a certain process of | |elimination to determine where she would belong. Let's see.Kathy | |wasn't very diligent-in fact, she slacks off and procrastinates | |whenever possible-so Hufflepuff was out of the question. She was | |smart enough to get into Ravenclaw but that particular House | |lacked creativity and emphasized definiteness, which didn't | |exactly float her boat. Gryffindors prized honour, courage and | |honesty above all and Kathy wasn't so sure she always told the | |truth-what about all those little fibs? She did have one thing in | |common with Gryffindors though: when it came time for her to | |choose between the easy thing to do and the right thing to do, you| |could count on Kathy to make the legitimate choice. In the end, | |the Hat stabilized her in Slytherin where her sense of adventure, | |danger, her sly sense of humour and observation would all be | |rewarded. That was a little background history on Kathy. Weird.but| |interesting. | |And this year, there were more members from The States. You know | |what I'm talking about-America! Anyways, this elusive group | |consisted of Kathy (only half, though), Mr. C. and Trent.well, and| |another person soon to make his first appearance. | |"Have you guys noticed anything?" Kathy suddenly asked during a | |quiet Charms class double-teaming with Gryffindor. | |"Yea, I've noticed that everyone else can do this little melting | |charm and I can't." Replied Ron, grumpily. | |"Not what I was going for." Kathy waited for Ron to pay attention | |to her and went on. "You know Snape always favours his students, | |since Slytherin is his favorite House?" | |All three of them looked blankly back at Kathy. | |"Well.almost all his students except me, 'cuz he hates moi." | |"Do you know why he hates you though? Think about it-it's really | |odd. You answer all these questions and it's a perfect chance for | |his own House to get points and he never calls on you! It doesn't | |make sense." Hermione pointed out, shaking her head. | |"I know why he hates me." Kathy admitted. | |"Yes?" All of them asked in unison. | |"It's because I'm Chinese." Kathy announced grimly. "Or maybe it's| |because I'm American. Or, he just doesn't like 'Quarter People'." | |"What's a 'Quarter People'?" Asked Ron. | |"You mean, person? Well, I'm one-fourth Chinese, one-fourth | |American, one-fourth Muggle and one-fourth witch. Doesn't that | |make me a quarter of everything?" | |Hermione and Harry laughed. "I thought you wanted us to donate to | |you, or something." Said Harry. | |"So what were you saying about Snape favouring Trent?" Ron stopped| |flicking his wand and looked at her. | |"That's the thing! He doesn't! Why shouldn't he, though? You | |should see Snape get at him in class. He's always asking him these| |impossible questions when Trent's not paying attention and | |singling him out during class demonstrations. What's up with | |that?" Kathy wondered. | |"Don't know, don't care. At least Slytherin won't win the House | |Cup now that Snape hates both of you. You won't stand a chance | |against Ravenclaw this year. So, I wonder what we have for lunch?"| |Harry turned the subject around and that sort of ended their | |discussion right there. Kathy turned back and shrugged. | |"Yeah.maybe it's nothing. But I can't help but notice certain | |similarities.." | |She trailed off because no one was listening. They weren't really | |paying attention to the kind of behavior that Snape was showing to| |Trent, even though he was nice and polite. This was mostly because| |no one gave any mercy to the Slytherin House anyways. But Kathy | |has noticed this awkward behavior and thought this was queer. | |The students at Hogwarts made an amazing discovery. They found out| |that their beloved school wasn't the only wizarding academy that | |had a good education basis. The American school, "Hillfidger" was | |giving their students an adequate education, because Trent sure | |seemed to know his magic stuff. | |Many new adjustments were made around Hogwarts. This school year, | |the team-teaching schedules were all different. House teachers | |were teaming up with each other, so they wouldn't have to do | |double the work and new subjects could be fitted in. Slytherin was| |teaming with Gryffindor, (to Kathy's delight), and Hufflepuff with| |Ravenclaw. | |During an especially difficult Transfiguration class, Professor | |McGonagall was demonstrating to everyone the proper way of | |transforming a quill into a dove. This spell would be quite useful| |when you're just finished up with writing a letter and wanted it | |sent ASAP. They were to partner up. | |"Harry! 'Sup, Daaawg?" Kathy approached him warmly. | |"I'm afraid not, Miss Dialent. You have not been behaving well | |with your beloved chums, including Mr. Potter. Kindly partner Ms. | |Parkinson to your right." | |Kathy scowled at Professor McGonagall when she turned her back. | |"Have a nice time; just watch out for her nose - if you sit too | |close to her, you might get it too." Teased Ron, jokingly, | |indicating to Pansy's sunken-in pug nose. Unfortunately, Professor| |McGonagall focused on Ron's behavior too. | |"Yes Weasley, you reminded me. Mr. Potter, go join Longbottom, and| |Weasley to Ms. Bulstrode. Your own behaviour isn't so perfect | |either. But Hermione on the other hand, you may chose whomever you| |wish to partner." | |Ron scowled this time. | |"Suck-up." He muttered to Hermione, when she walked over to sit | |next to Parvati Patil. | |The spell was long and hard to pronounce. Kathy never had this | |much trouble before. Pansy wasn't paying attention to her anyways,| |so she sneaked up to Professor McGonagall's desk. | |"Hehe.Professor, can you give me a few hints on how to do this | |spell? By the way, your hat looks astoundingly beautiful today." | |Kathy's voice was sugarcoated and her eyes were glassy. | |Professor McGonagall glared at her, warningly, but in a softer | |way. She finally gave in and surveyed the whole classroom with her| |observant eyes. | |"Why don't you partner Mr. Beauteem? He seems to have gotten on | |better than you have." | |Kathy's eyes brightened. "Oh, that would be helpful. Thank you." | |She sat down next to Trent who looked up. | |"Um.do you know how to do this? 'Cuz if you do, please tell me." | |Kathy said to Trent. | |"If you're talking about this spell.then you're outta luck, 'cuz I| |can't do it either. But if you're asking about the charm I'm | |doing, then I could show you." | |Kathy raised an eyebrow. "What?" | |Trent proceeded to give her a little demonstration. He lifted his | |wand and whispered : translativo el pájaro. Instantly, the feather| |quill on top of Trent's table morphed into a pure white dove. | |Other people around them oohed and ahhed. | |Kathy was starting to feel very excited and simultaneously | |jealous. | |"HOW?" She asked so loud, Ron knocked Neville over in surprise. | |"Whoops, I mean, how?" She repeated in a softer voice. | |"There's an easy charm that can make transfiguration a lot easier.| |All you have to say is translativo and the thing that you want to | |change it to. But there's a catch." | |"What?" Asked Kathy, breathless. | |"You've got to know Spanish vocab. I said el pájaro, which means | |bird in Spanish." | |Kathy was relieved. This was something she had experience with. | |"That's awesome! I took Spanish one and two in middle school. It | |should be no problemo! How the heck did you know this stuff? What | |did they teach you at Hillfidger?" Kathy asked in awe. | |This guy vaguely reminded her of Fred and George, who finished | |their last year at Hogwarts already. | |"My step dad taught me. He knows all the tricks of the trade. It's| |a shortcut to transfiguration and teachers don't teach it because | |they want students to know the right way to do it." | |Kathy didn't see why making things easier was bad. "Why? Wouldn't | |you get the same results?" | |"Apparently, this trick is not one-hundred percent accurate. If | |you were to look closely at the dove I transformed, you'll notice | |that its wings are not the right angle and its eyes are gray, not | |black, compared with Professor McGonagall's dove." | |"Oh well, no one can tell." | |"That's the thing. Most people won't know, but you'll have to be | |careful when using it - I bet McGonagall could tell if she was | |paying attention." Trent added quietly. "But other than that | |physical flaw, the shortcut is pretty much authentic." | |The bell rang at that moment. | |"So, I trust that everyone has completed transforming their quill | |into a dove and back. For tonight's homework, compose a quick | |summary of how to do this spell and send it to me, via the | |transformed quill by tomorrow." Announced Professor McGonagall. | |Lots of people groaned, but not Kathy and Trent. | |Chapter Four | | | |The very next day, Gryffindors had Care of Magical Creatures class| |with Hagrid. Harry, Ron and Hermione took this chance to chat with| |Hagrid. It was probably their first time talking to him since the | |first day of school. Lunch was right after it but all three of | |them stayed to wait. Kathy was supposed to meet them right after | |her class of Divination. | |"Hi, Hagrid!" Yelled Kathy, bouncing up and down. | |"'Ello, there! Nice ter see ya! All 'a ya! What do you look so | |happy fer?" Hagrid asked Kathy curiously. | |"Well, the new professor, you know, Mr. Kinesse, called Kathy | |a.a.I dunno, he called her something and it made her all happy for| |some reason." Ron tried explaining. | |"He called her 'una chica muy cómica'. It means-" Hermione started| |to say but got cut off by Kathy, who was in a swelled state of | |hastiness. | |"It means: a very funny girl in Spanish! Can you believe it? He | |speaks Spanish!" With that, she broke into a fit of giggles that | |took over her for a while. Harry and Ron first looked at each | |other and then looked at her. | |"You see, Hagrid, this happened more than a hour ago and she's | |still acting hysterical. I don't get it. So he thinks you're | |funny. So what?" Ron asked, nonplussed. | |"Don't you get it? It's very special to have a teacher compliment | |you in another language. I mean, besides Hermione who knows | |everything, I doubt anyone else in the class knew what it meant. | |So it was special because only I knew the meaning." Kathy | |clarified to them knowledgeably. | |"And Hermione." Added Harry. | |Kathy looked annoyed. "Yeah, I know. I just said that, so stop | |raining on my parade." | |"So how do you know Spanish? Another one of your mysterious | |heritages?" Hagrid cut it, his eyes twinkling. | |"No, I took it for two years in middle school. I don't know a lot,| |but I do know enough to greet people, ask directions and order | |food in a restaurant." | |They nodded, now understanding. Another thought struck Harry. | |"I know you're smart Hermione.but when did you take time to | |specially learn a new language and not tell us?" | |Hermione grinned surreptitiously. "All Western languages have | |Greek and Latin root words, right?" | |They nodded slightly, not getting it yet. "Right." | |"And all the spell and incantations are a mix of Greek and Latin."| |Continued Hermione. "So." | |"So." Said Ron vacantly. | |Hermione was looking impatient now. "So I can guess what Mr. C | |said, by using the Latin root words I know!" | |"That's our Hermione!" Boomed Hagrid, making Hermione blush a dark| |shade of crimson. "I haven't seen anything get to you yet." | |"That'll be the day." Agreed Ron. | |After their visit, the quadruplet headed down to the Great Hall | |for lunch. Kathy suddenly sighed loudly while eating her chocolate| |Yorkshire pudding. | |"What?" Harry asked as he wolfed down a whole drumstick. Everyone | |was starving and ate very rapidly. | |"I miss Fred and George. They made everything seem so nonchalant. | |Now I don't have anyone to crack up hysterically with." | |Ron patted her back sympathetically. | |"Trust me, the world is better off without them." He grinned | |comically. | |"Don't say that! They weren't that bad, were they?" But Kathy | |didn't know about Fred and George's complete record. Harry agreed | |wholeheartedly with Ron. | |"She's right though. Who're going to be the Beaters for Gryffindor| |this year? The Keeper? Roy was a good Keeper last year. What about| |the Chasers? Alicia, Katie and Angelina left too. I'm the only one| |left. And same with all the other Houses." Little did Harry know | |he was just beginning to find out that Quidditch would never be | |the same. | |"Well, that's obvious, isn't it? All the House teams are going to | |have some new players. My guess is that they're taking some Fourth| |Years and Fifth Years. Positions are being changed too. Did you | |hear? Cho Chang's just had been made the Captain of Ravenclaw. | |Parvati told me yesterday." Hermione explained. Harry blushed | |slightly. He still wasn't over his old crush on Cho. But they | |didn't need to wait long at all. News about Quidditch was soon | |brought up, made from a special announcement from Dumbledore. | |People all stopped eating to peer curiously up at their Headmaster| |because he rarely ever made announcements during lunch. This | |probably had to be an important one. | |"As most of you know, Quidditch teams and their players are very | |subdued right now. New players are wanted and many positions are | |being changed. I encourage our talented students to sign their | |name on the poster near the Great Hall. Then come to an audition | |with Madame Hooch the following Monday. We have never needed this | |many players, so make yourselves useful and sign up." | |His speech had motivated many people. By the end of this weekend, | |the poster was completely filled up with eager names, waiting to | |bring glory to his/her House. Kathy had persuaded her friend, | |Sarah Si to audition. She had always wanted to be on the Slytherin| |House Team, and she was very knowledgeable about it too. Slytherin| |definitely needed someone who knows the rules of Quidditch. | |Another reason Kathy convinced Sarah to go and try out was that | |she thought her hyperactive friend could now spend her pent-up | |energy on something useful. | |After a day of showing off their skills, all the worthy players | |were selected to play for their team. Madame Hooch and Professor | |Dumbledore had quite a time deciding, as all the auditions were | |pretty good. Sarah came bounding into the Slytherin girls' | |dormitories the next afternoon and landed with a dramatic wave on | |Kathy's bed. Kathy could guess what she was so happy about. | |"Good job, I told you you would make it. Looks who's right.as | |always." Kathy said, not surprised at all. | |Sarah kept grinning all this time. "Okay, okay, you were right. I | |was born to be a Quidditch star. This is so cool; we're going to | |be on the same team!" | |Kathy smiled, in spite of her un-surprised attitude. "At least now| |I have another girl on the team. You won't believe how much those | |big smelly guys sweat! I swear, it would start raining." | |Sarah had a little half-smile playing on her lips. "But not | |Draco.I bet he doesn't smell, or rain, and he isn't as huge | |either." | |"Yeah, he doesn't rain." Kathy agreed. "No-he pours." And Kathy | |had to duck as Sarah catapulted a pillow at her. Her feelings for | |Draco were so obvious sometimes that it made Kathy sick. | |Since Lee Jordan, (the previous commentator for the Quidditch | |teams) had already left Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall took the | |responsibility of finding a new commentator into her own hands and| |successfully found a suitable one in less than a day. | |"Mr. Weasley, you will take this job seriously because for one, | |you're receiving pay for it, and two, everyone depends on you to | |give them the real, live announcements of what's going on in play.| |You will present yourself in an unbiased way. I would like to add | |that Mr. Lee Jordan was not a good example, being on Gryffindor | |himself. And speaking of being on Gryffindor, the other teams are | |already disapproving of having another Gryffindor commentator for | |years in a row. Well, I told them all that you have a loud, clear | |voice, good knowledge about Quidditch itself and a knack for | |knowing what's happening around you at really quick paces. So | |you'd better prove yourself worthy, Mr. Weasley." With that, she | |strode off quietly, leaving Ron gapping open-mouthed at her. | |"Th-thanks, Professor." He grinned widely and had great pleasure | |in telling Hermione, Harry and Kathy the wonderful news. | |Hermione was certainly correct about Cho being made Captain. To | |Harry's surprise (and no one else's), he was made Captain of the | |Gryffindor Quidditch team. He was a bit nervous about meeting his | |own team. Harry isn't exactly the most organized person in the | |whole world. Being Captain had never entered his mind. He had to | |think back on how Oliver kept this team in shape. | |On Saturday morning, Harry met his brand-new Quidditch team for | |the first time. He knew absolutely no one. He was not even sure of| |himself at the point, not to mention worrying about how well the | |other players will turn out to be. Harry solved his tenseness by | |dragging Kathy to the field with him. Luckily, her own Quidditch | |Team-meet was the next day. She took her place next to Harry, | |hands stuffed in the front pocket of her gray sweatshirt. | |"I need advice, Kathy." | |"Stand up straight, speak loudly, make eye contact and give | |reasonable orders." Kathy barked out to Harry, trying his best to | |remember everything. | |Seeing his team step onto the dewy grass field, he quickly | |straightened up and tried his best to look dignified. | |"Er - hello everyone, I'm, uh, very glad to have all of you on the| |Gryffindor Quidditch Team." He looked quickly at Kathy who gave | |him a thumbs up sign. Harry smiled and continued. "You all should | |be extremely proud on getting a position on this unbeatable, | |award-winning team. I'm Harry and I'll be your coach for the rest | |of the year. I haven't started planning our new tactics for the | |season yet. Not until I've seen everyone's moves. Everyone's | |playing style has to correspond with each other. Now, can I see | |all the Chasers?" Harry finished his welcoming speech and launched| |straight into orders. Kathy winked at him for acting so mature and| |Harry grinned back. Three girls made a line next to Kathy. | |"Let's go ahead and introduce ourselves." Harry motioned for a | |tall skinny girl with thin, blond pigtails and wide blue eyes to | |begin. | |"I'm Lindsay James, Chaser." | |Another tall girl with curly blond hair who, apparently was | |Lindsay's friend also stepped up. | |"I'm Rebecca Giles, also playing Chaser." | |"And I'm Halley Trishon, Chaser." | |"Tom Felly, Beater." A tall, burly guy with spiked brown hair | |called out. | |"Richard Harrison, Beater." This guy was tall, with thick blond | |hair. | |"Artie Brews, Keeper." Artie kept his head down and his voice low.| |This had to be the tallest guy on the team. Artie had tousled dark| |brown hair, clear apple green eyes and a huge sweater on instead | |of Quidditch robes. | |Harry eyed him briskly. | |"Where are your robes, Brews?" He questioned. | |"Haven't got them yet." Artie still hadn't looked up yet. Harry | |was finding this eye-contact thing to be harder than Kathy put it.| | | |"Why not?" | |Artie shrugged. "When do I need it by?" | |"You were supposed to have worn them today with the rest of your | |team." Harry was starting to get irritated. | |"Okay, don't have a cow, I get the point. I'll get 'em on the next| |meeting, or something. I have my broomstick and that's the main | |thing." | |Kathy couldn't take this anymore. She had to say something. | |"Team robes are important too. What if I mistook you for someone | |from Slytherin with your green sweatshirt?" | |Artie finally lifted his head. He looked straight at Kathy. | |"Are you even on this team, or sumin'?" | |Kathy found this question irrelevant and didn't answer it. | |She tried a fake laugh to cool down his attitude. | |"Heheh.you know, a Fifth Year should be able to show a little more| |respect to his Captain, doncha think?" | |Artie's eyes flicked up and down Kathy. It made her uncomfortable | |for some reason. "So who the heck are you?" | |Kathy was losing patience. "None of your business, I'm here with | |Harry!" | |She felt a hand on her shoulder. | |"I'll handle this, Kathy." Harry assured her. But Kathy didn't | |feel like moving. | |"No.Mister Artie Brews needs to learn how to treat his elders." | |She got out of Harry's grasp and faced Artie, even though he was | |so much taller than she was. | |"Elders?" He repeated nastily, his clear eyes not leaving Kathy. | |"I'm like two feet taller than you, don't go tellin' me what to | |do." | |Kathy was thrown. She wasn't used to getting treated like this. | |The rest of the team glanced around uneasily, not wanting to | |contribute any comments for fear of getting involved. | |"Excuse me? I don't believe the size of your legs matter in this | |situation. At least I have a bigger brain." | |There was a hushed silence. Artie's face flushed. | |"You better shut yo mouth, bit-" | |Harry had knocked into Artie to stop him from insulting Kathy any | |further. It was quite a sight. The "dignified" Captain and the | |newly appointed Keeper were tumbling around on the grass in an | |all-out brawl. Tom and Richard rushed up to them and yanked their | |hands away from each other. The three girls were biting their | |nails, looking scandalized. Kathy was the only one smiling. | |"Fight, fight, fight. Kick him in the nuts, Harry!" Kathy chanted | |in the background. Artie was taller and stronger than Harry was, | |but he caught Artie off-guard and now had him pinned down. | |"Wa-hoo!" Kathy cheered and helped Harry to his feet. He wiped off| |the blood from his lip cut and staggered up. | |"Are you OK?" She yelled, feeling more happy than concerned at | |Harry's physical state. He nodded absent-mindedly and turned | |around to face Artie. | |"I want you to get one thing straight, Brews. I don't care if you | |throw tantrums, or get into trouble. I couldn't care less. But I | |won't tolerate you insulting my friend. Kathy is on the Slytherin | |House Quidditch Team, playing Chaser, so it'd be wise to show some| |respect to her too, especially since I invited her to come here | |today. By the next meeting, I want you to have your robes on." | |Harry drew himself up to his full height. "We're going to have | |practices once every week on Friday evenings at five. As for the | |rest of today's meeting, I want to see what you all can do. | |Starting with you, Brews." | |Artie sneered at Kathy for a moment before climbing onto his | |Meteor Broomstick. It was a newer version of the old Comet | |Two-Sixty. He sped around the goal posts twice before making a | |smooth save when Lindsay tried to shoot for it. Then Kathy helped | |Harry release the Bludgers and they had just enough time to zoom | |once around the air before getting hit by Tom. Rebecca got hold of| |the Quaffle and passed it to Halley who scored a clean goal. Harry| |nodded. | |"Not bad for the first time." He grinned, nodding. Some attitude | |adjustments needed to be made on Artie's behalf, and rules needed | |some reinforcement, but other than that, the Gryffindor Quidditch | |Team had hope of winning the Cup yet again. | |Kathy pulled Harry out of a group gathering at the end of | |practice. She looked serious, for once. | |"Um.thanks, Harry. He was so much taller than me, or else I | |would've whooped his butt myself. Oh my God, your lip is still | |swollen, do you need some ice, or-" | |"Nah.I'm fine. I should bring Ron the next time you two start | |bickering. He should be about the same height. Or Hagrid." Harry | |joked. Kathy smiled. | |"Are you sure it's too late to kick him off the team?" | |"Have you seen him play, Kathy? Weren't you watching? He's | |fantastic! Just as long you keep away from him during practices, I| |can handle Artie. I'll make sure he doesn't talk about you. What | |can he possibly do to his Captain?" | |Kathy frowned. "Okay Harry.but he seems like an idiot to me. A | |talented idiot." She added, looking at Harry's _expression. | | | |Chapter Five | |Getting to Know Trent | |Kathy was jogging down the hallways in a big hurry to get to | |Charms class. She was late for lunch and therefore had to hurry to| |her dorm again for her textbooks. All of a sudden, she collided | |with someone who was hurrying equally as fast. | |"Oh my God, awww.shhhhh..." Kathy looked around both ways to check| |for anyone else in the hallway. "Aw shoot!" She exclaimed as she | |bent down to pick up her books. Kathy looked up to see Draco | |staring up at her. | |"Sorry." He mumbled quietly as he handed her books back. Kathy | |forgot all about her books as she remembered something more | |important to ask him. | |"Oh, hey Draco, I was meaning to ask you something but I hadn't | |had the chance yet. Where are Crabbe and Goyle? How come they | |don't go to Hogwarts anymore?" | |"Oh, their parents had them interviewed for Durmstrang and they | |got accepted. Lucky them, because I wanted to go there too." He | |replied. | |"Shush, you know Hogwarts is so much better." Kathy glanced at her| |watch and shouted in frustration. | |"Uh-I'll talk to you later, see ya!" | |Kathy sprinted to Professor Flitwick's classroom and came to a | |complete halt when once again, someone stopped her in her tracks. | |This time, it was Trent. | |"Do I have a sign on my chest that says: hit me, peoples one more | |time?!" She screamed. "Can I run in the hallways peacefully | |anymore? Geez." | |"Sorry, I thought you were Britney Spears and hurried towards you | |for an autograph." Trent reached out and scooped all her | |belongings with one quick sweep of his arm. | |To his relief, Kathy smiled. | |"Thanks, that was a good one. You like Britney Spears?" | |"The plastic part of her, or the real part, thought there's not | |much left." | |Kathy laughed out loud. "I didn't know you were half-Muggle." | |Trent pushed her into the room because people were looking at the | |clock. Kathy smiled apologetically at Professor Flitwick and went | |to sit down in her seat looking harassed and flustered. Trent got | |into an available seat at the back of the classroom with Ron. He | |flashed Ron a friendly smile and Ron returned it, although not as | |enthusiastically. | |Professor Flitwick was teaching everyone the automatic charm. It | |was used for making inanimate objects do work. For example, | |Professor Flitwick had brought in some dirty plates from the | |kitchen and placed them in a tub of water on his desk. He got down| |from the pile of books he was standing on and beckoned them all to| |get up from their seats to see. | |"Now, all you have to do is say: automatísima and the objects will| |obey your command. Observe." He cleared his throat, raised his | |wand, and said automatísima. At once, the dishes began clinking | |gently and washing themselves. Within three minutes, they were dry| |and squeaking clean. The class clapped. | |"Oh.now I know how my mum does it. She never washes the dishes | |herself! Maybe I could automatically de-gnome the garden too!" Ron| |found this charm quite useful and ran back to his seat to try it | |out at once. He didn't mind that Trent was sitting next to him | |anymore-the charm kept Ron occupied. Kathy passed by their table | |on her way back and managed to sneak a word to Trent. | |"You didn't answer my question back there, Trent. So are you half | |and half?" | |Trent said in a voice that was barely audible. "Wanna talk later?"| | | |Kathy was eager to. "Sure." The Trent guy seemed very intriguing | |to her for reasons that she couldn't quite fathom. | |In the middle of class, a small piece of parchment flew across the| |room and landed very delicately atop of Kathy's wand. She picked | |it up curiously and wore a bemused _expression on her face after | |reading it. Ron gave her an oblique glance and raised an eyebrow. | |That evening at about seven thirty, Kathy stealthily sneaked up | |to the North Tower. She waited there for about ten minutes | |patiently, checking her watch every two minutes, but no one came. | |Then Kathy decided that he probably forgot about her, and began to| |climb down the long flight of stairs when she smacked into a solid| |wall. Kathy got thrown backwards on the stone ground. | |"Sorry 'bout that." An invisible hand helped Kathy to her feet. | |Looking around strangely, Kathy figured it out. | |"Nice invisibility cloak, Trent. You could have told me a minute | |ago." She said, brushing dust off her robes. | |"Well, I wanted to surprise you." He said mysteriously. | |"Okay.hahaha, I'm surprised. So.what are we doing up here? Are you| |gonna tell me a secret, or something?" She asked excitedly. | |Trent grinned playfully. "Not really." | |Kathy still felt like she was talking to thin air and tore off | |Trent's cloak in annoyance. To her surprise, he was wearing Muggle| |clothing. | |"Here, I want to show you something." He said instead. Kathy | |rolled her eyes. | |"No duh. That's why you lured me up here. Do you know how long it | |took to climb up here?" | |"Yeah, fifteen minutes from the Slytherin Common Room. It's okay, | |we don't have any homework tonight." Trent slipped his right hand | |out of the secret-pocket in his jeans and revealed a bright and | |shiny object in his palm when he pulled it out. | |"Oooh.it's so pretty." She reached out and touched the crystalline| |light amber stone delicately. | |"I thought so too. It's a rare orange topaz." Trent's deep brown | |eyes glimmered in the pale moonlight. Somehow, Kathy felt | |mesmerized by them. | |"Why do you want to show me this?" Suddenly, Kathy was struck by a| |momentous fact. "Trent.topaz is my birthstone." | |"Is it?" His voice was drawling and low. | |Kathy stared into the heart of the precious topaz, wondering. | |"It's beautiful." She murmured. | |"It's yours then. I don't have any use for it anyways. I thought | |you might like it." He opened up Kathy's small hands and placed | |the cold, glimmering amulet into it. She gasped. | |"It must be worth a lot. I don't know, Trent." | |"Just categorize it as.a token of our friendship?" He said | |lightly. | |Kathy smiled. "If you insist." | |"Who knows? It might come in handy." | |"How?" | |Trent shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe." | |Kathy hung the amulet over her head and fingered it lovingly on | |her neckline. "Um.thanks." | |"Don't mention it." | |Trent jerked his head abruptly in the direction of the | |upstairs-trap door leading to the Divination classroom. There were| |shuffling noises. He pushed Kathy gently towards the stairway. | |"Go!" He said to her. "I heard someone, and we're supposed to be | |in our common rooms." | |Kathy stood rooted in her spot. "What about you?" | |If Filch was coming, she sure didn't want to leave Trent all by | |himself. | |"I'll be okay, I have my cloak, remember?" He said hurriedly. | |"Um.thanks again for-" She waved uncertainly. | |"You're welcome." He waved back. | |When Kathy was out of the clearing, Trent slid into his | |invisibility cloak and turned to face the trap door. It wasn't | |until five o'clock in the morning when he finally left the North | |Tower. | |Chapter Six | |Revelations | |"Run, Kathy! Hurry up for Care of Magical Creatures! You have | |like, two minutes! " Kathy's fellow Slytherin friend, Emily Chen | |yelled at the staggering Kathy who was hauling fifty loads in her | |arms. She looked outside through the big awning windows and sighed| |hopelessly. | |"What's the use? I'll never make it anyways. Go ahead without me, | |it's okay. I'll just go to Madame Pomfrey and fake a severe | |headache, or somethin'." She assured Emily. | |Emily hesitated a little. "Um.want to copy my notes then at | |dinner?" She yelled down the hall (they were about five yards | |away). | |"Yeah, sure, just go!" | |And Emily went scurrying off to Hagrid's Hut. On her way to Madame| |Pomfrey's, Kathy stopped herself. She peered at her sterling | |silver blue HUDSON watch and grinned. Suddenly, another idea | |occurred to her. | |"Why go to the nurse when you don't feel sick? I'll go to | |the.library and, and get a book.or do my homework." Kathy grinned | |again to herself. Skipping class was not routine for her, but | |Hagrid will understand. Besides, Kathy had a colossal project in | |Potions that she hadn't even started on yet. | |Walking nonchalantly towards the library, Kathy caught sight of | |Ginny. She waved merrily at her. | |"Hey Ginny! What's-" Kathy was saying, but seeing the shocked | |_expression on Ginny, she stopped. | |"Watch out!" She cried shrilly and pointed behind her. Too late. | |Artie Brews, the big, bad jock, was skating through the halls at | |break-neck speed. Kathy only swerved to the opposite direction in | |the nick of time. Her books however, had not fared so well, and | |they rained down on Kathy page by page. The impact of Artie | |skating by tore her Transfiguration and Divination books to | |shreds. | |Ginny backed up cautiously against the wall, not wanting to feel | |Kathy's sudden wrath. It was not a pretty sight. She had just | |realized that the wonderful guy who ripped her books to slithers | |was the one and only.Artie Brews. | |He turned smoothly around, feet still planted on his precious | |skateboard and gathered up Kathy's belongings silently. He shoved | |them rudely into Kathy's frozen hands. Then, saying nothing, he | |elevated himself back onto his tech-deck and scooted away. | |"ARTIE BREWS! OH MY GOD, YOU LITTLE PUNK!" Kathy's voice exploded | |through the empty hallway and bounced onto Artie. He heard her | |voice all right, but Artie never turned back. Ginny slowly walked | |up to her. | |"Are you all right, Kathy? Are you hurt?" Ginny asked timidly. | |Kathy was silent and still staring at her torn books. Ginny tried | |again. | |"What if you asked him tomorrow to pay for your books?" | |Kathy gave Ginny a disbelieving look. | |"After Care of Magical Creatures class, I have lunch. After lunch,| |I have Transfiguration. Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, I | |have Divination. How am I supposed to get new textbooks during | |that time? Oh, sure, if I ask him nicely. He's supposed to be | |apologizing to me here!" | |Ginny shrugged, looking sorry for her. | |"Isn't Artie on the Quidditch team on Gryffindor, I mean?" Ginny | |asked prudently. Kathy nodded. | |"Get Harry to ask him then." She suggested. | |Kathy's shoulders slumped. "Urgh.nevermind, I'll borrow someone's | |textbooks and when I have time, I'll get Hermione to bind them | |magically." She sighed. "Why do unfortunate things keep happening | |to me? It's not my fault if I was born on Friday the Thirteenth." | |Ginny couldn't answer that question so she decided to change the | |subject. | |"What are you doing here anyways?" | |This did the trick. Kathy had snapped out of her sullen daze. | |"I'm just um.just, you know. Hangin'. It's uh-such a nice | |hallway." | |Ginny laughed and nodded. "Late for class?" | |She gave in and laughed too. "Real late." Kathy gave Ginny a | |warning look. "Hey! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed | |to be in Herbology?" | |Ginny nodded. "Supposedly. Professor Sprout had a nasty accident | |with some fly trapping plants. I think they trapped her hand | |instead, so now she's in the hospital wing. That's why Artie had | |nothing to do. This period is free for us." | |"Oh." Kathy replied, back to pitying herself again. When it looked| |like she was zoning out, Ginny's eyes strayed to Kathy's neck. She| |was usually very neat and orderly with her appearance, but because| |of her "accident" today, Kathy's inner shirt was unbuttoned and | |her collar was folded back the opposite side. Hanging loosely on | |her neck was the beautiful topaz amulet that was glittering | |ominously at that very second. | |"What's that?" Ginny asked curiously. Kathy looked down | |consciously. | |"Oh that. Um, it's my necklace. With my birthstone, orange topaz. | |Yeah, I was um, born in November." She hadn't revealed yet to | |anyone that Trent had given her such a mysterious item. Ginny was | |still peering at it with great interest. | |"Uh-I think it's time for lunch." Kathy veered the topic | |off-course to something else. "We've been standing here for forty | |minutes." | |"Okay, I'll see you. Bye Kathy." | |Kathy made a quick trip to her dormitory, dumped her ruined books | |on her bed and headed down to lunch. She waited for about five | |minutes at the entrance of the Great Hall. Emily and Sarah both | |looked at Kathy enviously. | |"Ugh, Care of Magical Creatures was so stupid. We had to pluck out| |stray feathers of an Augurey. Do you know what it looks like?" | |Sarah complained. | |"It looks like an underfed vulture! Who would want one as a pet | |anyways? Oh my Gosh, and it was so shy too. I practically had to | |tie mine down." Added Emily. Kathy smiled sardonically. | |"That almost sounds like fun compared to what I had to put up | |with." She went on and told them about the Artie Incident. | |"Get him to bind it page by page with spellotape." Suggested | |Sarah. "Here, I have an extra roll in my bag." | |"I really should." Pondered Kathy. She nodded. "Can one of you | |guys come with me after lunch real quick to make him do this?" | |Kathy looked pleadingly at her friends. | |"I'll go with you. Besides, I want to meet him too. Sarah said he | |was ho-" Emily closed her mouth suddenly at the look on Sarah's | |face. Kathy also looked suspiciously at her. | |"What did Sarah say about him?" Kathy pressed. Emily blushed. | |"You know what.I forgot. She said he was crazy, or something." | |Emily twirled her bag straps idly. "Yeah, well, come on! Let's go | |to lunch now. I'm starving." | |Kathy gave up questioning and followed Emily into the Great Hall | |with Sarah trying hard to stifle her laughs behind them. | |"Ready, Kathy?" Emily held Kathy's ruined textbooks in her hands | |while Kathy grabbed her wand. Emily looked puzzled. | |"Just in case." Kathy explained. | |They went to the library with Kathy searching every which way for | |Hermione. She finally spotted her doing an assignment for the | |Study of Ancient Runes on an empty table. | |"Hey Hermione. I was wondering.uh, if you could tell me the | |password to the Gryffindor Common Room.I have to see this little | |Sixth Year." Kathy stated casually. | |Hermione put down her quill. | |"Let me guess-Artie Brews? Ginny told me all about it, and I'm so | |sorry! I'll look up the charm that could help you, if you want me | |to, Kathy." | |Kathy smiled in relief. She was afraid that Hermione wouldn't tell| |her the password. "Could you really? That'd be awesome. But first,| |I want an apology from him. If we can't squeeze it outta him, I'll| |let you know. You won't need to, if all goes well. Thanks, girl." | | | |"Well, just don't sneak in here often. I don't want teachers | |knowing that a Prefect gave you guys the password." Hermione | |considered it. "All right. It's 'silvered plum'. And don't get in | |trouble!" She called after their disappearing figures down the | |hall to the Gryffindor Common Room. | |Kathy and Emily stepped gingerly into the warm Gryffindor common | |room. There was a merry fire crackling in the fireplace and soft | |silhouettes of tall armchairs surrounded the room. The Gryffindors| |were mostly minding their own business, chatting, or trying to | |complete their homework load, which was a good thing. Kathy found | |Artie easily among the crowd. He stuck out like a sore toe. Artie | |was dressed in all khakis, sagging pants and he was wearing an | |even baggier gray sweatshirt than the one he had on during the | |first practice. | |She nudged Emily and the pair walked over to him. Kathy pushed her| |Divination and Transfiguration books in his face. | |"Looks like you owe me something." Said Kathy coolly. Artie | |smirked. | |"Oh, yeah. I like, ripped your books apart with one sharp turn." | |"Are you trying to brag, or something?" Asked Emily, her opinion | |of him changing instantly now that she has met him in person. | |"So aren't you gonna do something about it?" Kathy's voice was | |slightly higher than usual. She kept it level and hoped that the | |situation wouldn't turn out ugly like last time. | |"Like what?" Artie shoved two hands in his pockets and lifted one | |leg up on the coffee table. Others around him frowned at his | |unique sense of etiquette. | |"Like bind them up." Kathy said clenched teeth. Artie shrugged and| |grabbed her books. He took out his wand and muttered librario | |repairer almost lazily. Kathy's books looked brand new and | |untouched. He displayed them exaggeratedly. | |"That better?" He smirked again. | |"It'd better be." Kathy took her books from Artie and walked off | |with Emily. Kathy couldn't believe her luck. First of all, | |Hermione had actually told them the password and secondly, Artie | |actually repaired her books. Things weren't so gloomy anymore. | |After lunch in Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall took the | |Slytherin and Gryffindor Team to the library for a research | |project on transformation with amphibians. They were to pick | |partners. Professor McGonagall was only nice enough to let them | |choose their own this time. Kathy turned to Emily automatically. | |"Wanna work together?" | |"Sure." Emily pushed her desk next to hers and they piled their | |books in the middle. "What about Sarah?" | |Kathy spotted her over at another bookcase with her back to them. | |She rushed over. | |"Sarah, wanna-" Kathy stopped at the sight of Draco talking to | |her. | |Sarah swished around and turned bright pink at the ears. "Hi | |Kathy. Oh.I was going to work with Draco." | |Kathy grinned. "It's fine with me." She went back to tell Emily. | |"Guess she found someone already." | |Emily laughed openly. "It's so obvious. She should just tell him | |or something." | |Kathy shrugged, having a different opinion. "It's rarely ever that| |easy. Most everyone has a 'fear of failure'. That's what my old | |History teacher used to always say." She said wisely. | |Emily nodded and a sneaky smile twitched on her lips. | |"Right.didn't you go out with Draco last year? Even if it was only| |for a month.you guys were always sitting next to each other and | |holding hands.." | |"Yeah, he was actually an okay guy until Harry, Ron and Hermione | |threatened to beat me up if I kept going with him." | |Emily nodded fervently. "Yes, I know. Who doesn't? They were sworn| |enemies on the first day. Personally, I think he's just jealous of| |Harry, and since Ron and Hermione tag along with him, Draco hates | |them too. Their relationship has gotten a tiny bit better ever | |since you came along last year though." | |"That's good to hear." | |They paused because Professor McGonagall was looking their way. | |Kathy pulled out a huge volume of a transfiguration skill book and| |immersed herself in it. Emily too, found a dusty leather bound one| |and followed suit. Within minutes, their research was done. | |"This is always the easiest thing to do. Researching is just like | |doing projects and only require writing and reading. If | |Transfiguration was all about this, then I'd do well." | |Emily made a face. "I hate researching. This isn't even magic." | |Even though Kathy was already officially accepted into the | |Hogwarts upper-classmen society, she was still behind in the | |incantations and spells part of her education. This would make | |Transfiguration seem like calculus to her. | |To make things simpler for herself, Kathy related these magical | |subjects to Muggle ones. Potions, she decided, was just like | |chemistry, with all its measuring and pouring things into a | |cauldron-test tubes, vials and petri dishes, she called them. | |Transfiguration was an alternate version of math. That included | |algebra and geometry. History of Magic was self-explanatory. | |Herbology dealt with plants so Kathy dubbed it Biology instead. | |Divination was just a bunch of compositions, predictions, | |summaries and space charts. It was like a mix of language arts and| |astronomy. Defense against the Dark Arts included mostly | |hands-on-experiences and that's basically what physical education | |was. Both were about getting up and doing something, at least. | |That left Care of Magical Creatures. Ecology was just the course. | |Near the end of class, Kathy tapped Sarah on the shoulder. "Done | |yet?" | |Sarah rummaged through her messy pile of parchment on her desk. | |"Not exactly." | |Kathy smiled knowingly. "I see. Too busy for research, huh?" she | |glanced quickly at Draco. Sarah didn't answer, but she didn't need| |to. | |Chapter Seven | |Announcements, Everyone | |As Hermione, Ron and Harry sat down in the Great Hall one morning | |to eat breakfast, Kathy ran over to their table excitedly. | |"What's up, your House table isn't interesting enough?" Hermione | |asked. | |Kathy didn't bother to answer that question. She had something | |more juicy and important to spill. "Trent said that Dumbledore's | |hosting some kind of party this year on Halloween! Thought I'd | |share it with you guys first." She said vehemently. | |Ron and Harry looked at each other. | |"If it's another dance." Began Ron. | |"It's not just a dance, I don't think. But what's a party without | |dancing? I mean, seriously. Oh, oh, look, see? Dumbledore's gonna | |make a speech." Kathy pointed up at the faculty table with a | |satisfied grin. | |Sure enough, Professor Dumbledore stepped up onto the elevated | |platform at his seat and cleared his throat. People everywhere | |looked at him curiously because every time Dumbledore made a | |speech at breakfast, it usually meant good news. | |"Excuse my little announcement this early in the morning. I would | |like to inform you all that as Halloween is approaching fast, | |there will be a special celebration this year." Dumbledore paused | |because many people had begun to mummer excitedly about this. | |"Instead of the usual Hogwarts Halloween feast, in place of it | |will be a costume party. So dress appropriately and three prizes | |will be given to the most creative styles of costumes. I hope | |everyone will participate and I look forward to seeing your | |innovative styles on the thirty-first." | |There was much stimulated conversation after Dumbledore finished. | |It seemed as if everyone already had an idea of what they were | |going to be already. | |"Told you!" Kathy's eyes went round at once and she started | |bouncing up and down in her seat. | |"What's wrong? Got ants in your pants?" Ron asked, looking | |amusingly at Kathy. | |"I know what I'm going to be for Halloween!" She declared, fanning| |herself dramatically. | |"What? A pumpkin?" Ron joked. | |"Yeah!" | |Ron looked at Kathy in horror. "No, just kidding. I'm going to | |be.okay, get ready.a witch!" | |Harry and Hermione looked at each other, then burst out laughing. | |"Kathy has a point, I mean, I was a witch every year before I knew| |I really was one all along." Confessed Hermione. | |"It's a Muggle-thing, Ron." Harry whispered to Ron, who was | |looking at Kathy and Hermione as if they belonged to the insane | |asylum. | |"Right." Ron nodded absent-mindedly. "Even Professor Trelawney | |could predict the outcome of this Halloween party-it's going to be| |wicked." | |"We're combining Quidditch practices today." Announced Draco one | |Friday afternoon. Kathy dropped her broomstick (a ThunderStreak). | |"This is only our second practice so far. We're nowhere near ready| |to play for real. And I don't think we're allowed to practice with| |other teams before the actual match anyways." Said Kathy. | |Draco didn't say anything for a few seconds. Kathy caught Sarah's | |eyes and realized that she was just as confused as she, herself | |was. | |"Come on, we're heading to the stadium." Was all he said. The | |others on the Slytherin Quidditch Team followed Draco, all bearing| |expressions of curiosity and mystification no their faces. Kathy | |was just about to question Draco further when the sight of someone| |answered her question. | |"Professor Kinesse?!" | |"What's shakin'?" He greeted them cheerfully, crossing the grassy | |Quidditch field. | |On that very same day during a Quidditch practice session, Harry | |was informing his own team about the first match of the season. | |"Listen team, our first Quidditch match of the season is one week | |after Halloween against Slytherin, so I want to make that our | |goal: to win that match." | |The team immediately got quiet and tense. Harry didn't want to put| |too much pressure on the new team just yet. This was one technique| |Oliver Wood should have worked on. | |"By the way, I believe Professor Trelawney has predicted that | |there was going to be extremely foul weather on that day." Harry | |said jokingly, hoping to convince everyone to get into a looser | |state of mind. Everyone who knew Professor Trelawney snorted away | |and began talking about their new moves that they had been | |practicing. | |Harry grinned, mission accomplished. He started the day's session | |off by letting out the game balls (using bewitched acorns as a | |substitute for the Snitch). | |The team had a flawless practice session. The Chasers worked very | |well together this year, despite all their different playing | |styles. Lindsay and Halley liked to especially zoom off like | |bullets, wanting to catch the opposing Chasers off guard. On the | |other hand, Rebecca preferred to do things the slow and proper | |way, so the three of them worked something out. Lindsay and Halley| |would weave in and out of all the players, and once they had the | |Quaffle, they would pass it to Rebecca, who would hang around the | |goal post at all times during the game. It was foolproof if they | |did it right. | |Richard was very nice and patient. That was someone the team | |definitely needed. With Harry's advice, Tom and Richard tag-teamed| |and imitated a game of Ping-Pong in the air with the clubs and the| |Bludgers. This way, Harry reasoned, would distract the other | |teams' players who were in the middle of the commotion. | |"Good practice, guys. Just keep practicing these moves and if the | |weather is on our side, the first match of the year will be a | |piece of cake." Harry assured them, feeling confidant himself. | |"Any questions? Concerns?" | |Artie grunted, stating that he had one. "Yeah, I have a good | |question." | |Lindsay rolled her eyes at him. "Yea right, it's probably really | |stupid, like what he asked last time. 'What would happen if I rode| |all the way up in the sky without stopping? Would I ever reach | |outer space?'" She imitated his lazy, bass voice with disdain. | |Halley and Rebecca laughed, nodding in consent with Lindsay. It | |was a sign that Artie wasn't quite so popular on the Quidditch | |Team. | |Artie cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Why are we | |training this hard for playing Slytherin when we're not even going| |to be playing them?" | |Harry froze instinctively. | |"Not playing them? Who told you that?" He asked sternly, but in a | |softer voice. | |"Haven't you heard? Weren't all the Quidditch Captains informed, | |or something? Why are you asking me for insider-information?" | |Harry was forcefully reminded of Draco in their first year. "This | |isn't a guessing game. Do you know something important? As the | |Captain of this team, I would advise you to share with us. If not,| |then don't say anything at all." | |Halley put her hand to her forehead. "For God's Sake, Artie! Spit | |it out." | |"We're gonna be competing against rival schools." Artie said. The | |whole team was silent, slowly letting the information be digested.| | | |"Rival schools? So we're not having the Quidditch Cup Competition | |this year?" Harry just had another flashback. In his Fourth Year, | |he was completely devastated when Dumbledore announced that | |Quidditch matches would be canceled throughout the school year. | |This was exactly how he felt at the moment. | |"Forget inner-school competition. This is about other schools | |competing against Hogwarts, united. One school team is to | |represent the school in hopes of wining the Quidditch Academic | |Cup. That's what it's called, by the way." | |There was a moment's silence. Then Harry said slowly, "where did | |you hear this from, Artie? How come the captains weren't | |informed?" | |Artie looked wistfully at Harry and then answered. | |"Everyone will know sooner or later. I just happened to know | |sooner. A little birdie by my window told me last week. Oh, and I | |think we should go to the stadium now." | |Harry shot him a questioning look. "You don't fail to come up with| |surprises every time we meet, do you, Artie?" | |Artie grinned. "I try to be unique." | |"It's okay-you don't need try." Harry assured him. | |Harry had no choice but to see if Artie was right. He led the team| |to the Quiddtich stadium, mentally calculating. | |"Harry! So we're practicing with you guys?" | |Kathy rushed up to him, face flushing. | |Harry turned to Artie. "I guess so." He muttered. "I think we need| |an explanation. Mr. Kinesse, what are you doing here?" | |"Good question, Harry. I just got done telling the Slytherin Team | |about this year's Quidditch Academic Cup. It concerns rival | |schools and new rules, meaning that there will be no inner school | |competition. For now, I'm not going to say much more than this | |before the special guest comes." | |Harry stole a glance at Artie. He was trying hard not to look smug| |about his being absolutely right. | |"A special guest? Who? When?" Asked Sarah. | |"My guess is Krum." Answered Kathy. She had heard all about him | |from the accounts of Ron, Hermione and Harry. | |"Good guess, but he's not it." Said Mr. Kinesse, acting | |mysterious. | |Everyone was silent and thoughtful, concentrating all the | |Quidditch Academic Competition. Everyone.but Artie. | |He looked causally at Kathy and then said something no one had | |expected him to say. Well, they were all expecting some kind of | |insult anyways. | |"My old school had pictures of you in our textbooks, but they were| |black and white and don't look anything like you." | |For the first time, it didn't seem that Artie was trying to poke | |fun at her. He continued, "the information we had was very vague | |too." | |Kathy looked at Artie in a new light. "You're an exchange student | |this year too from the U.S.? Wow, what's up with your American | |school and their giving away students this year?' Kathy | |questioned. | |"Maybe it's a good thing. This way, English-speaking schools are | |likely to improve throughout the years." Artie answered | |nonchalantly. | |Kathy rolled her eyes. "Yeah.like you care anything about the | |welfare of your school. You were probably just bored and wanted to| |visit England." | |"How would you know? Do you know anything about me? Don't be such | |an ass-sumer." | |The crowd was hushed. Sarah was on the verge of biting her nails, | |torn between entertainment and apprehension. Although, everyone | |was disappointed because Kathy didn't find it repugnant at all. | |Instead, she laughed. | |"Hey, that's what my history teacher used to always say. I always | |found it funny, 'cuz he told us never to cuss." | |Artie smirked. It was difficult to tell if it was friendly, or | |just plain rude. | |"We will meet again next Friday to decide the enrollment." | |Announced Mr. Kinesse. Everyone walked off the field, still | |perplexed at the change of situation in such a short time. | |On Monday, they had double Potions with the Slytherins. Mr. | |Kinesse was teaching them how to create a weakening Potion that | |day. | |The whole class listened with rapt attention at Mr. Clark. He had | |a way of making students pay attention when he needed them to. | |Even the Slytherins had nothing to complain about Mr. Clark. | |Especially when he's Pansy Parkinson's favorite teacher-besides | |Snape, of course. | |"Once drunk, the opponent loses psychical strength, so it's best | |used for in a duel. Although I should warn you all, this potion is| |very complex and you will need to follow all the instructions | |carefully." | |Kathy stared at Mr. Kinesse for a few moments. She couldn't help | |it-he just seemed to remind Kathy of her former life in the U.S, | |and that was a cozy, warm, personal feeling. Sighing, she went | |back to her potion-making ingredients and began chopping up dried | |roots. | | | | | | | |Chapter Eight | |Costume Party | |"I can't believe they're making us have class on the day of the | |Costume Party tonight! Don't the teachers want time to dress up, | |or something?" | |Kathy complained loudly, not caring to lower her voice as she, Ron| |and Harry made their way up to the North Tower for Divination, | |their very first class on Wednesday. | |"Well, we can't really do anything about it. The party is at night| |anyways, and we only have two classes in all today. After this | |class, it's time for Defense against the Dark Arts." Hermione | |reasoned. | |At this, all three of them groaned. | |"Is Snape making us all brainstorm on the best way to destroy a | |werewolf again? Because if he is, I'm not going! On Monday, I | |jotted down twenty ways, and he said that he could've thought of | |that in his sleep and made me write another twenty." Harry put in,| |his head drooping. | |"It's okay, we'll just talk about the party tonight." Comforted | |Kathy. | |"So what are you going to be for Halloween?" Ron asked Harry. | |"I'm not telling, see for yourself tonight." He grinned. | |"What about you two?" Ron tried Kathy and Hermione. They had on | |the same enigmatic grins. | |"Okay, fine. Be that way." Said Ron, shaking his head. | |That night, the Great Hall was decorated differently. There were | |still live bats and floating pumpkins, but there were also tiny | |pixies and fairies flying around, lighting up the massive area. | |Even the air itself seemed magical, shining subtly and laced with | |a pleasant woody scent. | |When almost everyone had arrived for the Costume Party, Ron and | |Harry were getting anxious. They hadn't seen Hermione, or Kathy | |anywhere. Suddenly, Harry heard Ron howl next to him. | |"What?" He asked, alarmed. | |Ron pointed silently with shock as Harry traced his finger to the | |target. Harry immediately spotted Hermione through the thick | |crowd. | |"What on earth.HERMIONE!" Ron shouted. | |Hermione was dressed as a cheerleader. Her thick, honey-coloured | |hair was pulled back into two bouncy pigtails and she had on a | |short pink skirt with matching pink pompoms. Even Hermione's smile| |matched her outfit-it was just as sugary sweet. | |Harry, dressed as a Demented Dementor himself (the title he gave | |himself), wearing dark robes of green and a fake rotted hand | |attached to his own, stared open-mouthed as Hermione made her way | |across to them. | |"Ron! You brought your dog too." Hermione indicated to the little | |clown-dog that Ron brought along. | |"So? You brought Crookshanks. And his name is Gnome." Ron said, | |his voice returning to a normal pitch now that he has gotten over | |the shock of discovering Hermione to be a preppy cheerleader. | |Crookshanks was clad in a purple satin outfit and fake plastic | |transparent wings. Harry suddenly felt a huge urge to laugh out | |loud. | |"Gnome? Oh, I see. You found the dog while de-gnoming the garden."| |Hermione figured. | |"What's Crookshanks supposed to be?" Harry stifled a laugh as he | |asked Hermione. | |"A fairy. Isn't it obvious?" | |Harry didn't answer. | |"Apparently not." Ron supplied the answer. "I've never seen a | |fairy be so fat." | |"Crookshanks isn't fat.he's just, just cheerfully plump." Insisted| |Hermione, her nose in the air. "And what are you?" Hermione | |indicated to Ron's white strips of bandages hanging loosely on | |him. | |"My costume." | |"Which is.." | |"A mummy. Grrrr." | |Hermione grinned. "Very scary." | |"Who's idea was it to dress up in a prep outfit? It isn't really | |your style, Hermione." Said Harry. | |"Really, so what is my style, then? They were Kathy's idea. We | |went shopping for our costumes together in Hogsmeade one weekend. | |Although.I don't think she bought anything, come to think of it." | |"So where is she? What is she coming here as?" Ron asked. | |Hermione smiled in a carefree fashion. "You'll see." | |Ron looked glum. Waiting was not his strong point. He decided to | |go to the refreshment table and drink something. This would take | |his mind off waiting. | |As the three of them looked excitedly around, people in all | |colours and shapes came into view. Even the teachers had something| |to show off. Professor Flitwick came as a tiny leprechaun. | |Professor Dumbledore was clad in green and had tacky pointy ear | |tips attached to his own ears with spellotape. Harry guessed that | |he was probably an elf. Mr. Clark was wearing an ordinary black | |tuxedo and navy blue tie. Maybe he was a Muggle-businessman. | |Without warning, the huge double doors opened to admit a very | |strange person. Everyone stared curiously at the queer stranger. | |This person was wearing all FUBU clothing, a ragged bandana on the| |head, tennis shoes that were untied and thick metal chains that | |ran across the neck. Pants sagging, fingers bling-blingin' with | |huge golden rings, arms crossed, the odd person greeted them all. | |"'Sup y'all?" | |No one answered. They just continued staring. | |"Kathy?! And what the bijeebees do you think you are?" Ron hissed | |at her, pulling her out of spotlight so she wouldn't be the center| |of attention anymore. He didn't want to be embarrassed tonight. | |"I'm myself." She answered. | |Hermione, Harry and Ron gaped at her. | |"Myself.deep down inside. How would you guys be knowin' anyways? | |For all you know, I could've spent my childhood up in the hood." | |Harry shook his head silently. "Can you stop talking like that? I | |knew you were weird.but this.?" | |Ron couldn't stop staring at her costume. "I didn't know they sold| |this crap at Hogsmeade." | |"Crap? Yeah right, this whole outfit isn't cheap. And it's not | |from Hogsmeade. I'm just borrowing it." | |Hermione looked interested. "Who else would have this uh- | |ensemble?" | |Kathy didn't answer because Dumbledore got up on the platform to | |say something. | |"Happy Halloween, to all of you that came! I am glad that you all | |came fully dressed in these colourful costumes. I've already seen | |a lot of rather interesting ones that are worth one of the three | |prizes. Now, I'm going to inform our guest band to begin so we can| |have some music. Enjoy yourselves and don't let the pets run | |loose." | |A loud round of applause followed him, which of whom, Mr. Kinesse | |clapped the loudest. | |The music was very upbeat and easy to dance to. Kathy went from | |table to table, searching for Emily and Sarah. She finally found | |them at a big bench with a lot of other Slytherin girls. | |"Emily! Sarah! Come on and get freaky." She dragged them both up | |to their horror. They didn't recognize her at first. | |"What the-Kathy?! You are the craziest-" Sarah started. | |"Thanks, glad you dig it. Come on, I think I hear music in the | |background." | |Emily got out of Kathy's firm grasp and smoothed her blue-violet | |sequined dress robes. She was dressed as a mer-lady. | |"Why don't you 'get freaky' yourself? I'm not going to be the only| |one dancing. Look, no one's on the dance floor." | |Kathy glanced back at the dance floor. She shrugged. | |"Then we'll have to show everyone how to dance. Come on, Emily, I | |know you like to dance. You do it all the time in the library when| |you think no one's watching." | |Emily's eyes widened. "I do not." She said, turning a brilliant | |shade of magenta. | |"Whatever, fine. Sarah, are you sure?" | |Sarah gave her a false cherry smile. "Go ahead, ghetto Kathy; | |we're right behind you." | |Kathy sighed. "Wusses." | |She cracked her knuckles, and began break dancing on the dance | |floor alone. Amazed and scandalized, people stopped to watch. | |Three minutes into the song, another figure joined Kathy. She | |looked up, surprised. | |"Artie?" |  
  
He winked at her and did some fancy footwork when the music tempo got faster. Ron caught sight of Artie and grabbed Harry. "What now?" He complained, but Ron didn't say anything. He pushed through the crowd towards Kathy and Artie with Harry behind him. "Look! Look at what Artie's wearing!" Ron pointed to Artie, who was bouncing to the beat with Kathy at his side, looking like they were having the time of their lives. Harry's eyes followed Ron's guide and he understood. "They're wearing the same thing!" Harry exclaimed as his gaze went from Kathy to Artie and back again. Closer inspection stated that Artie was also wearing FUBU clothing but in a different shade of blue. "They're pretty good. I'm strangely tempted to go join them. How about you bunch?" Commented a voice behind them. Harry and Ron jumped. Draco smirked. "How 'bout it?" He shoved Harry and Ron into the center of the floor. They looked around wildly. Draco joined them a second later. "What's with the friendly attitude, Malfoy?" Ron asked suspiciously over the loud rumble of noise. "It's Halloween, lighten up, Weasley." Draco hollered back at him. Encouraged by the involvement of more people dancing, within seconds, the dance floor was full. Kathy and Artie stopped dancing. Sweating and panting, Kathy sat down at an empty table and poured herself a drink from the beverage stand. Taking a long refreshing gulp of iced pumpkin juice, she smacked her lips. "Nice moves." Kathy dropped her glass of juice. "Sorry, I'll get you another one." Trent got up and came back briefly with another drink. Kathy's feathers were slightly ruffled. "God.how can you manage to scare me with a small noise when this whole room is full of noise?" Trent smiled. "It's a special talent." "Hehe, funny. So, what are you?" She asked, glancing at the back tie and white collared shirt he had on. Trent's hair was stylishly ruffled tonight and his pair of black dress pants was immaculate. "A movie star." "Good one, I like movie stars. I don't think anyone gets it though." Trent watched Kathy drink, but didn't sip his own. "You get it." Kathy smiled good-naturedly. "That's 'cuz I actually watch movies." Trent answered unblinkingly. "I know." Kathy shivered a little. "Is there anything you don't know?" "Not much." His reply didn't even sound like a joke. Kathy laughed nervously anyways. "Um.let's go up to the bigger tables. The judges are about to announce the winners." Finally, when everyone had plenty to eat, drink and dance about, Dumbledore announced the winners of the costume party. "The judges were all the teachers who looked around and if a certain costume caught their eye, they were sure to mark them. So in third place, the costume of Professor Snape caught a few teachers' attention." There was a mummer of talk going on after he said this. "For this prize, I present to you, Neville Longbottom." Neville, obviously very surprised at his luck, almost tripped as he got up to receive a miniature wand. "In second place, is a costume that caught especially my eye, as I never seen a student dress like this before. I give you.Kathy Dialent." Announced Dumbledore as he gave the glowing "Ghetto Kathy" another miniature wand. Sarah and Emily didn't bother congratulating her. Kathy was doing enough of that herself. "Thank you, thank you." She waved to the crowds of people scattered around in the Great Hall. The applause though, was only moderate. Kathy hadn't even noticed. "In first place is someone who has the most creative costume, but some of you might not be too familiar with it. Professor Kinesse, please come up and take your prize." Hushed talking went on as Mr. Clark made his way up to where Dumbledore was. People were confused. "But all he's wearing is a Muggle-tuxedo!" Exclaimed Hermione. Just as those words came out, Mr. Clark tore open the buttons of the front part of his suit to reveal a bright yellow and red logo in the shape of a diamond with a huge S. "Does anyone know where to find the nearest telephone booth?" Mr. Clark asked. At first, no one said anything, then all of a sudden, Trent, Kathy and Artie burst out laughing. "Superman!" Yelled Kathy. "Yeah, figures his first name is Clark." Said Artie with a grin. Besides those two comments, the vast room was silent. Mr. Kinesse scowled. "I knew I should've gone as a witch, or something. Ah, screw it." He muttered, disappointed. Chapter Nine Oliver's Return "So what does the little wand do? Have you figured it out yet?" Harry asked Kathy exactly one week after Halloween. "Um...no. I haven't even looked at it yet. Probably some party favor." She said absent-mindedly. Harry snorted. "Knowing the things Dumbledore comes up with-it's more than likely something more." Harry told her. "Did anyone tell you why we're going here anyways? Why do all the teams have to meet here of all places?" Kathy asked, confused. All of the four Quidditch House Teams were notified to head straight to the Potions dungeon at this hour. No one knew what was going on. Even Artie was pensive this time. "Oh, you guys are already here. So why did they call the teams down here?" Lindsay questioned looking around at the dark dungeon of Professor Kinesse's room. Pretty soon, the rest of the Quidditch teams arrived. "What I want to know is why we're all supposed to be here right now." Wondered Artie out loud. "Well, here comes Mr. C right now. Why don't you ask him?" Sarah pointed to the door. But Professor Kinesse wasn't the only person who walked through the door. A very tall, lean guy with light brown hair, shining brown eyes, also stepped in, wearing a soft black sweater. At the sight of him, Harry went ballistic. "OLIVER! What are you doing here?" All the others soon recognized him too. "I've heard of you, you're the old Gryffindor Captain, aren't you?" Asked Richard with awe. He had always admired Oliver. A girl on the Ravenclaw team was suddenly overcome with a fit of giggles. Her fellow teammates were trying to smother her sound. Kathy looked curiously over. Since they were all going to have to work together as one team, she reasoned that the sooner they got along, the better. "Hello everyone. I'm very glad to see all the new faces of our new Quidditch teams. I'm Oliver Wood, the former captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, as some of you might already know. This school year, what's called the Quidditch Academic Competition will be hosted. The competing teams are Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, Dumrstrang and Hillfidger. As soon as I heard of this, I immediately thought of a great idea about this year's team. It just might make Hogwarts look a whole lot better if it works. So the first thing I went to do was to talk to Professor Dumbledore about this and he hereby has given me special permission to coach you guys. I'm sorry all of you newly-appointed Captains, but I'm going to have to take your position, which doesn't mean I'm actually playing though. I'll only be your coach, and hopefully...lead you to your international victory." Cheers followed Oliver's explanation of the new Quidditch routine. Intensified attitudes were present in the atmosphere. Kathy could feel it. She looked around the dungeon and saw Lindsay's hand up. "Which team is going to represent Hogwarts this year?" "Excellent question. Today is the day the selections of the House teams are to be chosen." Oliver had a steely glint in his bright brown eyes. "This is where my surefire plan is going to come into play. You see, my strategy is to incorporate all the Quidditch Teams of Hogwarts together into one award-winning team." He paused a second for this information to be retained and then moved on. "That's why today's selection is extremely important. Mr. Kinesse here, will assist Madame Hooch and I in choosing this elite team. If you'll all follow me unto the field. Give it your best shot, guys. We want the best combination possible." Oliver always took Quidditch matches on a serious level, but he was right today. One wrong player could tip the entire team on the other side of the scale. This had more serious repercussions than you would think, because Quidditch House Teams have always been elusive and secretive about their own, private game tactics; no one had ever played on the same team as their enemies before. After this mini tirade from their new captain, Oliver, everyone in the room was now looking remarkably more nervous than when they first arrived in the room. Mr. Kinesse stepped up to take the stage. "Oliver wasn't here just to scare you guys. I heard great things from all of these team and I want real proof. Just do what you normally do during practices and go out there to kick some butt!" Said Mr. Kinesse for the first time during their whole conversation. All twenty-eight players hobbled nervously to the field and lined up next to Oliver, waiting for further instructions from him. When everyone had gotten situated, Oliver cleared his throat. "Okay everyone, I'm going to say this once, so listen up. Professor Dumbledore created this system, so I'll assure you that it's very justified. We will choose players from each team according to their rank this way. "In first place from ten years, up to now, is Slytherin, therefore I will choose two players from them. Second ranking is Gryffindor, making another two players available for the open slots. Thirdly, Hufflepuff will have two players selected from and lastly, but not least, only one player will be from Ravenclaw." Several groans were issued from the Ravenclaw side. At once, all the members of the various teams began discussing the players that were going to be chosen. Mr. Kinesse walked over to them and separated the teams. "I want all the Beaters and Chasers over here." Harry whispered "good luck" to the Beaters and Chasers from his team as they crossed to Mr. Kinesse's side, each clutching his or her broomstick tightly. It was a comfort kind of thing. "Watch now; on the sound of Madame Hooch's whistle, I'm going to release four Bludgers and all the Chasers will fly in the air. Beaters, your job is to try and distract as many Chasers as you can, while not injuring anyone. Chasers, I want you to score as many goals as you can in the three minutes I'm allotting to you all. Madame Hooch will keep score." On the sharp sound of Madame Hooch's silver whistle, the twelve Chasers and eight Beaters zoomed off to do their tasks, looking like mere random splotches of colour. After three vigorous minutes of competition, the second blow of her whistle signaled them to halt. Mr. Kinesse was jotting something down on his memo pad while Oliver had his chin in his hands. At last, they nodded at the same time, and came to a consensus. Kathy and Sarah landed together, both looking worn out. Out of luck and sheer panic, they seized the Quaffle, hardly letting it go the whole time. Then, pitching it to each other, both girls managed to make an ample amount of goals. Rebecca, on the other hand, looked crushed. Being slower than the rest of the players, she didn't make any. A girl from Ravenclaw with long, thick brown hair was smiling. It was easy to tell that she felt confident about the tryouts. Lindsay was arguing with the third Slytherin Chaser named Ryan. He was making fun of the girls on the Gryffindor Team, saying how Rebecca was so slow. Lindsay was infuriated that someone like Ryan could ridicule her best friend in front of all the other teams. Her blond ponytail bobbed up and down angrily as she shouted at him. Ryan paid no mind to her at first. "That Rebecca girl is so slow, winter will be over by the time she finally flies down." He sneered in Rebecca's direction and slapped his knee. The two bulky Beaters from the Slytherin Team sniggered openly. More people crowded around them, not wanting to miss the clamour, including Kathy and Sarah. "Then how did she get picked to be on the team? There were so many others who auditioned to get Rebecca's position-if she was so bad, why did she get picked then?" Lindsay asked him defiantly. Kathy smiled. She liked this girl. Standing up for friends was a tactic she admired; so for her sake, Kathy decided to say something too. She first poked Sarah in the ribs. "Ow, you idiot, what?" Asked Sarah, annoyed. "You got my back, right? Just in case I say something stupid and get punched in the nose." Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Oh well, we're all on the same team.Ryan can't really beat you up in front of everyone if you stand up for that girl." Ryan stepped closer to Lindsay, hoping to intimidate her by flexing his muscles. "I bet my grandmother could hobble faster than she can fly. That's pathetic." "Oh really? Can your grandma play Quidditch, Ryan? I didn't know that." Quipped Kathy. Ryan turned around. He wasn't amused. "I didn't say that. You're on my team, shut up, Kathy. I said my grandma-" "Could hobble, but Rebecca is playing Quidditch, which is a totally different thing. You can't really compare irrelevant subjects, you know." Kathy said, hoping to make Ryan forget what his whole point was. "Just shut up, okay? I wasn't talking to you." Ryan shouted at her. Lindsay was quiet. She liked to be the spectator for once. "Who were you talking to then?" Said Kathy. Ryan glared hardly at her, but Kathy didn't flinch. "That other girl on the team. That girl with the ponytail and big mouth. I dunno her name.shut up!" Lindsay grinned; she walked off already and joined Halley and Rebecca, but heard the whole conversation all the same. "Wow Ryan, what a great come-back. 'Shut up'." Sarah put in. Ryan wasn't enjoying this. "Hey you too, shut up!" Mr. Kinesse clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. He only had to do it once. The crowd was dead silent immediately. Kathy and Sarah had identical grins of anxiety on their faces. "For the Beaters." Began Mr. Kinesse. All the Beaters were looking hopefully in his direction. "Oliver, Madame Hooch and I definitely feel that the two from Hufflepuff had done an outstanding performance. If you will step forward, Brad and Jonathon." The Hufflepuff Team cheered for their Beaters loudly and Kathy clapped politely for them. She saw the two Beaters on her team kicking the mud. Kathy rolled her eyes. They didn't stand a chance. Both Brad and Jonathon worked seamlessly together; she saw them in action and was glad of the choice. "For the Chasers." Kathy bit her lip. Could she be possibly picked for this position? It was too much to ask for. "We have only chosen two so far. We have to wait to see if Gryffindor gets another player on another position or not. But here are the current results. Laura Habitt, from Ravenclaw has been chosen." The girl Kathy saw giggling earlier on was actually Laura Habitt. If she hadn't been so nervous, Kathy would have felt interested about this piece of news. "The second Chaser is Sarah Si, from Slytherin." Kathy had a venerating look on her face. Sarah was beyond happiness. All control lost, her hyperactive friend jumped and shrieked insanely. "Oh my God, good going, Sarah!" Kathy was extremely proud of her friend, but all the same, there was that sinking feeling in her stomach. Slytherin could only have two players selected and if Sarah was already chosen, surely, they wouldn't pick another Chaser from the same team, would they? Kathy hoped that Mr. Kinesse disagreed with her. "Can I have the four Keepers come this way, please?" Kathy caught the sight of Artie's sullen scowl when he lined up next to Mr. Kinesse. "Why does he always have to be so grumpy? He seriously needs some drugs to cheer him up, or something. Hasn't Artie ever heard of euphoria?" Kathy said. Sarah giggled hysterically. "Or maybe he's already on drugs and that's what's making him look like that. Or maybe he's actually smiling and we just don't know it." Sarah said wisely. Kathy laughed. "I think you're on drugs, Sarah. What else is making you so high?" "Shh! Let's watch him. It'd be really funny if he makes the team too." She changed the subject. They watched him and sure enough when the time came to decide their fate. "Artie Brews, please step forward." While Harry cheered for him, the three Gryffindor Chasers groaned loud enough for him to hear from the other side of the field. This meant that Gryffindor could only have one more player to be chosen. Kathy and Sarah watched in disbelief as Artie sulked up to Mr. Kinesse's side. Sarah quickly retrieved her broom from the ground too. "I'll see you later." Sarah waved happily at Kathy, who didn't return her smile. She looked sympathetic. "Kathy, don't worry, oh my God, I have a feeling that you're going to make it too!" Kathy shrugged. "I don't really care anymore. At least I'll be cheering for you from the Slytherin side. And Harry too. He's probably gonna get picked." Kathy seemed sure, but Sarah looked doubtful. "I don't know, Kathy.Draco stands a chance." "No." Kathy said flatly. "He has to face the fact that he just isn't as good as Harry." Sarah pouted. "Whatever." She sprinted to the line of the new all-star players. "Lastly, I want the Seekers to make a line here." Mr. Kinesse had his last set of instructions. Harry got in a straight line with Cho, Draco and the new Hufflepuff Seeker, Casey Roberts. He spotted Kathy in the awaiting crowd, mouthing an encouraging kick some ass! at him. With that "nice" omen from Kathy, Harry couldn't help but grin a little. Inside, he wasn't too nervous, but performing in front of the teachers and all four teams didn't really appeal to him. "On my whistle, you four." Said Madame Hooch. Oliver let go of the golden Snitch and it zoomed past. Harry kicked off from the ground with amazing speed and felt the crisp air chill his innards. From this distance, he spied Draco tailing him close behind. Harry put forth a burst of speed on his Firebolt to shake him off. Cho gasped and shot towards the goal posts. Harry saw it too-the Snitch was encircling the Gryffindor goal posts. Casey was speeding so heedlessly forward that she didn't watch out for her surroundings and made an unpleasant smack sound when she collided full-force with Draco, who was headed the same way from the opposite side of the field. Needless to say, Harry's broom was so much faster than Cho's that as soon as he glimpsed the Snitch, he had it in his hand right away. There was a loud yah! from Kathy on the ground and an equally loud aww man from Sarah when she saw that Draco didn't catch it. Harry landed victoriously on the sweeping green field, grinning from ear to ear. Heads all swiveled his way and Mr. Kinesse gathered everyone into a circle. "We have made our decision. Based on all your performances today and your team's previous ranking, this is the Hogwarts team that will compete against another rival magic school this school year." Everyone waited with bated breath for the final outcome. Oliver took the sheet from Mr. Kinesse and looked up. It was so quiet that even the birds seemed to know that something important was going on. Kathy crossed her fingers and whispered under her breath. "Please, please, pick me, pick me." Oliver shook the paper climactically in his hands. Kathy found this extremely irritating at a time like this. "Ah-hem. The Beaters are Jonathon Huan and Brad Shane from Hufflepuff. The Keeper is Artie Brews, from Gryffindor. The Seeker is Harry Potter, also from Gryffindor, which makes an adjustment in the Chaser position." Kathy was so tense at this moment that she forgot to breathe. "The three Chasers are Laura Habitt, Sarah Si and.Kathy Dialent. Congratulations, to everyone who made the team. Practices will begin every week on Friday afternoons at seven and there will be one more meeting for you new players next week on Monday." Oliver finished with a broad smile. Sarah and Kathy were squealing in delight. "OH MY GOD, we're on the team together! That's so awesome! And we're the only players from Slytherin!" Sarah cried in joy. Harry approached them cautiously from behind, not wanting to get bombarded. "Hey, good job, you two." He congratulated. "This seems like a really good team." Kathy nodded vigorously. "Thanks, you too. I knew you were gonna make it, though. But me.I was scared for a second there." "So who are we going to play?" Jonathon, the Beater from Hufflepuff, came bounding towards them to join in their conversation. Harry shrugged. "No clue. Maybe Drumstrang? Beauxbatons?" "Or Hillfidger." Said another voice. Kathy turned around first. "You should know, wouldn't you? Being from Hillfidger." She asked Artie. He put on a casual air. "You would think, wouldn't you?" His light green eyes twinkled in a cryptic way. This gave Kathy something to think about that night. Chapter Ten "Harry, can I copy your History of Magic homework? Professor Binns needs to chill out about this homework policy." Kathy asked. It was true. Professor Binns was currently lecturing them on the various arguments concerning King Arthur and the wizard Merlin. As usual, he never stopped to pause or even look up at his class. If he did, Professor Binns would have noticed that most of them were carrying fluffy white pillows from their dorms. Like Hermione, Kathy wanted to do well in this class and took extensive notes during this class. All her fellow Slytherins, however, took this time to pass notes and catch up on their sleep. Since she was absent for the first four years of crucial magical education, Kathy's note-taking habit was worth its work. Besides, history had always been her favourite subject. If only the teacher would stop talking in monologues. Getting back to her notes explaining the roles in medieval England, Merlin was actually a title used and there were several Merlins who took up this job. Merlin did, in fact, exist and all of the men who were Merlins were very prestigious wizards. Merlin aided Arthur in conquering tribes in ancient Britain to reunite them into one. Muggles recognized the whole story as a myth and even some historians who claim that the tales of the Round Table were true, pointed out that Merlin was only a religious character and had nothing to do with real magic. Kathy took her own notes, and often lent them to her friends, but that didn't mean she was always independent in doing her homework. Hermione looked on disapprovingly as Harry handed Kathy his summaries of the chapters. When Kathy hurried to copy them down, her brow furrowed as she found mistakes in the first sentence. "Um.Harry, Merlin did have magical powers. It's in our text, it says he was a real wizard, didn't you read?" Judging by the clueless look on Harry's face, chances are that he didn't. Kathy looked over a few following paragraphs and stopped copying. "Yeah.I think you need to read the wizards' point of view. But your King Arthur facts are really accurate. Change of plans-I'll need to copy Ron's then." After she read the first sentence of Ron's, Kathy burst out laughing. "What? Is my paper even worse than Harry's?" He ventured, going red in the ears. "The table was round and it symbolized equality! At least, that's what I copied down in my notebook. At least I didn't write rectangular table. Haha, I think someone needs to read their text more carefully too." She commented. "I think someone better do her own work since she's such a perfectionist." Hermione ended. Kathy blushed and smiled back, feeling a little embarrassed now about copying someone else's work but complaining about their answers at the same time. Hermione didn't do this on purpose but she gave Kathy another idea. "Oh.Hermione!" She sang in a singsong voice. "NO." Hermione answered flatly. Kathy lost the sugary attitude. "You didn't even let me start! C'mon, it's three pages!" "We're in the library, keep it down." Hermione ignored her wishes. "Can I see your homework?" Kathy hissed at her. "NO," was Hermione's answer again. "Fine, be like that. I'll just tell Professor Binns whose fault it was that I didn't turn in my homework. Not that he checks it anyways." Hermione was close to screaming. "Kathy! You're impossible sometimes!" Kathy had a smile playing on her lips. "Hey Hermione, we're in the library. Keep it down, why don't you?" Ron grinned while Hermione sat quite still, fuming silently.  
  
*** On a chilly day in November, Kathy went to her dormitory to get her Astronomy book. It was just after lunch and since she had finished early, Kathy was in a state of boredom right now. Sifting through her pile of homework on her bed, she found her text easily enough, being the organized student she was. Although finding that she had nothing else better to do, Kathy decided to check her planner for reminders, or activities that she forgot today. She was leafing through the pages absent-mindedly when a pastel-coloured note fell out. Curious, Kathy picked it up and read. There was a questioning look on her round face as she turned it to the back to look for a signature. This is what it said:  
Out of order girl's bathroom on the first floor. Seven thirty PM.  
Para ti It was easy to figure out whom this note was from. Kathy's first suspicion was Trent, because he liked to do things secretively, but then there was Spanish in the note. Kathy decided that it was definitely Mr. Kinesse. Whatever he had to tell her, she wouldn't want to miss it. So Kathy clutched the note in her hand, grabbed her Astronomy book and headed back down to her specified classroom. When the time came at seven twenty five PM, Kathy made an excuse to leave the Slytherin Common Room. Emily needed her help on the Astronomy homework though. "Kathy, wait. Just tell me the answer to number thirteen on this worksheet, and then you can go." She begged. Kathy glanced distractedly at Emily's paper. "Pluto. Okay I gotta go." Emily called a rushed "thank you" after her, but after a second, she frowned. "Wait.the fastest orbiting meteor in the Milky Way isn't Pluto.Kathy!" Kathy walked softly to the place Mr. Kinesse told her to go to. Without even looking around for other people, she closed the door quietly behind her. Not that anyone with any sense would choose to pee at Moaning Myrtle's bathroom if they had a choice. Kathy didn't have to wait long because the door swung open quite forcefully to admit Mr. Kinesse. Kathy smiled. "I knew it!" He smiled back. "I thought you would. The Spanish there helped you out, didn't it?" "Yeah, it did.but uh.why a girl's bathroom?" "What? It's not like I've never gone inside a girl's bathroom before." He grinned. "And it, uh-offers us more, uh, privacy. So, how are you? Doing all right in all your classes?" Kathy was surprised. Mr. Kinesse had her go to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom just to talk about how she was doing? "I'm fine.how about you?" She raised an eyebrow. "Good. So.about the war." It seemed as if Mr. Kinesse was avoiding the real reason why he was here. But if it made him a little more comfortable to talk about it later, Kathy would have to go along with his plan. "I'm so sure that it's going to happen sometime. Maybe not this year, even, but it's bound to erupt into a war. Everything is pointing to it in the U.S." They were talking about the about-to-happen war in American against Iraq, but President Bush's final statement hasn't been approved yet. He's considering a preemptive strike-which is a whole new concept that's not listed in the American ways of dealing with issues, as opposed to the Monroe and Truman Doctrine. No one has ever tried it before. The U.S. government is eager for this war, but the rest of the world isn't too sure about this whole ordeal. Except Britain, that is. Mr. Kinesse nodded. "You keep up with your current events, don't you?" Kathy didn't say anything. She was waiting for him to talk first about why there were here, of all places. "Okay.sorry, it's time to quit stalling. I'm going to tell you some grave news right now. It might come as a shock, but I think you're mature enough to handle it, so don't let me think otherwise." Kathy's face was as serious as it could get. Mr. Kinesse took a deep breath. She wondered what could possibly make her teacher this nervous. "Let's start off with an introduction. I'm Clark Kinesse, but I'm not who you think I am." He paused for Kathy to respond. "What I think? I think you're my teacher. Is there anything wrong with that?" she asked, hoping it was a rhetorical question. To her amazement, he nodded his head. "I'm not a teacher." Mr. Kinesse took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose several times. He put them back on and looked at Kathy seriously. "I don't know how else to tell you this, but I guess you're old enough for these things. Here goes, so listen carefully, don't make me repeat myself if I don't have to." He looked to Kathy for confirmation of her attitude. All she could do at this moment was nod glumly. "I was sent to Hogwarts as a bodyguard. That is my profession. Umm.you've heard of the CIA, right?" Kathy had no idea where this conversation was going. She just hoped it was optimistic. "Yeah.are you part of the CIA?" "The wizarding one, yes. I have two missions here. One was to track something down; something of a significant amount of value, as it happens. The other task is to protect a certain someone. I am a trained, professional at my job. The best one in my league, as a matter of fact-I'm not braggin'-that's why they picked me for the assignment." Kathy didn't know how to respond. Should she scream out with surprise? Should she cross-examined him first? The second option seemed logical, so Kathy figured she would quiz him. "If you're really a wizard CIA agent, then how come you know so much about potions? Knowing enough to become a qualified teacher at Hogwarts?" Mr. Kinesse grinned, in spite of the solemnity they were facing. "Don't miss a trick, do you? Well, now that you've asked, I happen to be very knowledgeable in the field of potions; it was my major in Hillfidger a few years ago. Hogwarts was in need of this position and it was the perfect excuse to go undercover here. Professor Dumbledore hired me, but I think he knew of what I was up to miraculously. I don't know how, but his eyes seemed like they had X-ray vision, or something." Kathy remained quiet, but inside, she was agreeing with him. She knew all too well the effect of those penetrating blue eyes every time Professor Dumbledore spoke earnestly to her. "I have a few more questions. What are you tracking down? What does it have to do with me? Who are you protecting?" His deep, jungle-green eyes glimmered ominously. "Guess. C'mon, are you that thick, Kathy? Think about it-why should I tell you all this anyways, of all people?" Kathy sunk in a total daze. "Me.? Why are you protecting me?" "For one, I have to. I'm getting paid to do this. Two, someone's after you. And three, you might suffer from the process." Kathy blinked three times in a row. "'I might suffer from the process.'. Care to do some explaining, Mr. C?" she asked skeptically. "Gladly. But there's something important I want you to know, and you gotta understand this. I don't know the bare facts. I know the bare minimum, which isn't exactly a good thing. I'll tell you all I know right now, and I'll try not to leave anything out. "We're, (meaning the wizarding CIA), looking for this uh-'device' that is the key to.everything. This amazing little thing could unlock any door, untie any knots, break any spell, hack into any security area, undo any hexes or jinxes, basically.is good for anything." Kathy was in awe. "Something like that exists?" There was a new light in Mr. Kinesse's eyes that Kathy had never seen before. She wasn't sure if she liked it either. "Of course. And that's where you come into play." Kathy fidgeted around with her loose strands of dark auburn-dyed hair. "Am I helping you guys find it?" "Good guess. The CIA wants this baby to deal with Voldemort. The whole world is paranoid and someone has to do something about him. This is the best weapon we've got so far.at least, we've heard of so far." All the while that Mr. Kinesse was talking, Kathy's _expression was growing more foreboding by the second. He noticed this change and was worried. This wasn't the kind of retort he was hoping to get out of Kathy. "What's wrong, Kathy? You okay?" "Mr. Kinesse.have you ever, by any chance, read the Lord of the Rings trilogy?" Mr. Kinesse's smooth black brows knitted together. "Well, that was off- topic." "I know, but have you?" "Um.yeah, they're classics, absolutely brilliant." Mr. Kinesse answered honestly, but was distracted by the frivolousness on Kathy's behalf. "Then you should know all about the ring and how everybody wanted to use it- for good or bad. The good people in the series knew of its dark power and avoided the temptation at all costs of ever using its magic. Some of the stubborn ones wished to use the ring's power against itself, which was impossible because the ring is evil. No one except the creator could yield it. That was how powerful it was." Kathy said, sounding like an elementary teacher. Mr. Kinesse was giving Kathy bewildering looks. "What are you getting at, Kathy?" Kathy, however, didn't directly respond. She continued on with her analogy. "Some people-even though they thought they were helping others-were actually destroying them. For example, in the fellowship, Boromir wanted to use the ring to do good, but through him, the ring poisoned his mind and led Boromir to his own watery grave. Can you figure out what I'm trying to tell you?" "You're a deep thinker, Kathy. But really, you don't have to worry about that. If you just find the thing for us, the rest of the hard part will be up to us. And don't fret-we, members of the CIA, know what we're doing." Kathy wasn't so sure. "If this device you're after is so powerful, isn't there a possibility that it could get so powerful that no one can control it? What if it gets out of hand? I don't know if something like that could be used to do good. How can I trust the American CIA, if that's really what you're part of? How can I trust you, after you lied about your identity before?" Mr. Kinesse took Kathy's hands gently. "Kathy, listen to me. I'm not a bad person. I'm telling you the truth right now. This is a covert kinda job; I'm not supposed to let others know about my mission. The guys in the CIA will take care of it after you did your part. Now listen up again. "The description that I got for this object is very vague and I'm sorry about it, but it's a helluva lot better than no description at all. The device is a jewel of some sort and it shines naturally when it wants to be found." Kathy cocked her head to one side, letting dark auburn strands of hair fall to her shoulders in a confused fashion. "Why do you want me to find it for you? Can't you just.look for it yourself?" Mr. Kinesse snapped his fingers. "So glad you asked. The device has some sort of strange relationship to you in more than one way so there will come time when it will uh-signal you to come and find it. Since it probably hasn't happened, as of now, we'll have to wait a little while longer. And there's another thing too. "Someone else in the school has also heard about it and is trying to find it. That's what I'm protecting you from." Kathy clung to the handle of her seat tighter. "What? What are you protecting me from?" "Not sure yet. A girl, a guy, a teacher, a student, a ghost. Could be anyone in the school. I'm pretty sure it's a guy though.because I've done some researching about this criminal. I know that he wants to kill off Voldemort too, but then again, he might just become the next evil sorcerer. So watch out for yourself, you were warned. I'll be snooping around too." "I don't know about the part where I come in, Mr. Kinesse." "Think about, Kathy. You've got nothing to lose. Once you help us find it, we'll kill off Voldemort. It's the key to success. Don't you want to be a part of that?" Kathy was torn between the right and easy thing to do. Most of the time, she could tell for herself what the difference of good and bad was, but in a case like this.what was the right thing to do? She got up from the stiff wooden chair and paced the room several times. Mr. Kinesse waited patiently for her conclusion. "Okay.I'll help you find it. If it will destroy Voldemort once and for all, it's fine with me. If the device will come to me, then I have nothing to worry about in the meantime, right?" She smiled weakly, giving in. Mr. Kinesse shook her hand professionally. "That's the spirit, knew I could count on you. And uh-Kathy, thanks for trusting me on this." Kathy nodded. "Don't let me be disappointed then." Mr. Kinesse smiled. "Of course I won't. I'm everyone's favourite teacher. What can I do wrong?" He said smugly. Clunk. Kathy gasped and pointed to one of the stalls. The sound came from there. Someone dropped something. It sounded expensive. Almost like a glass cup. Mr. Kinesse held one arm out in front of Kathy to keep her from moving towards the sound. He winked. "Time for me to earn my salary. Stay back." Mr. Kinesse took out his wand promptly and kept it at eye level. He kicked open the stall and shouted the disarming spell. Kathy peeped inside. She couldn't believe it. Mr. Kinesse held someone's wand and broken flask in one hand and with the other, he held. "Harry! What the heck are you doing in here?" Kathy yelled. Mr. Kinesse loosened his grip on the collar of Harry robe and smiled apologetically. "Sorry. You didn't need to be so secretive about wanting to pee. It's all right." Kathy laughed, but Harry didn't make a sound. Obviously, that wasn't why he was there. Mr. Kinesse seemed to realize this. "Why are you in the girl's bathroom? There was a sign on the door, hence the out of order girl's bathroom." "You're not a girl." Harry pointed out. Mr. Kinesse shrugged. "So? What are you trying to say?" Kathy stepped in front of Harry. This was sort of important. "Harry.just how long were you in there? Long enough to hear everything we talked about?" With a tormented look, Harry nodded. "Really, I swear, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. Ron and I were doing our Potions experiment and I had to get some water. We weren't in the dormitories yet so I decided to just get some water here real quick. Then I heard someone come in and I hid in here ever since. You two have been talking for last two hours!" Kathy stared at Harry with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. "This is strictly between us three, okay? It's confidential stuff." "What about Ron and Hermione though? Maybe we could actually help you." Harry looked hopefully at Mr. Kinesse. He looked considerate. "Hmm, maybe you guys could. If you have already heard everything, then you know that protecting Kathy would be the best help you three can give her. Well, then stick to your promise. Two hours, did you say? You two better be heading back now. Your friends are probably wondering where you guys are now. I hope I made everything clear to you, Kathy." Kathy put on a light-hearted smile. "I'll try, Mr. C, I promise. I just hope that it's enough." Chapter Eleven A Light in the Forest "What? Seven-thirty at night? What the heck is wrong with her? We have other homework too." Ryan loudly complained the next week on Tuesday. There was a note pinned up on the ladder of the trapdoor leading to the Divination classroom, informing the students to report outside near Hagrid's hut that night. Kathy read the note too. "Hey, it says we're teaming up with Gryffindor. Sweet." She wondered what Professor Trelawney wanted them outside for. Did she want them to appreciate the great outdoors at this hour? Whatever it was, Kathy had no complaints about this change of course in her schedule. She was only glad to be able to escape the stifling contents of the misty classroom. Draco walked up next to Kathy, reading over her shoulder. Being five foot- ten, it was quite easy for him to do so. "You seem to be happy about tonight." He observed, glancing at the smile on her face. "We're going star-gazing and I'm going to get to be with Harry and Ron. Of course I'm happy. Aren't you?" Draco smirked. "Oh yes. I'm practically shaking with exhilaration." He said, with sarcasm dripping from every word. Kathy entered the Gryffindor Common Room at Six forty-five, hoping to catch sight of Harry, or Ron. Instead, she spotted Hermione. She had thick volume propped up against its spine while curled up on an armchair. If one had not casually noticed the title on the book (Arithmancy), one would have thought she was reading for pleasure. But then again, in Hermione's case-she probably was. Her nose peeked up behind the enormous book when she found that Kathy was there. At first, Hermione smiled warmly at her. Then she gave a start and dropped her Arithmancy textbook. "What?" Kathy asked. "How did you manage to get the password again?" Hermione's eyes searched her. "I have my own ways." A Fifth Year girl passed by those two and Kathy gave her a quick grin. Hermione saw and she looked on wearily at Kathy. "Let me guess. You're good friends with Kelsey?" Kathy smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. She hands me a list of the passwords every time the Fat Lady changes them. Handy, huh? But the relationship is mutual. I tell her Slytherin's passwords too, so she can visit me whenever she feels like it." Hermione rolled her dark chestnut eyes. "Whatever. I give up trying to monitor your moves in here. You do it so often. One day, you're going to have qualms about this." "No I won't. It's not like I'm going to sabotage Gryffindor in any way. Kelsey's just being a good friend.there's really nothing wrong in telling me the passwords. I won't even dream of bringing harm to Gryffindor. Besides, I spend most of my time in my own dorm, with my fellow Slytherins." Hermione laughed exasperatedly. "Save the sugary speech for the teachers, Kathy. Are you looking for Harry?" "Yeah. Ron too. We're supposed to be going to Divination right now. Are they here?" "Divination? Now? Well.I don't know. They might be in their dorms right now. You can't really go and check though-" "Thanks, see you, Hermione!" Kathy dashed up the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories in a flurry. She ran into the Six Years' room. Harry and Ron were very surprised to see her. "What the heck are you doing in here?" Ron asked. "Meeting you guys here so we can all go star-gazing together." Kathy answered with her face ardent from the sprint. "Kathy, do you go anywhere with your own class in Slytherin?" Harry asked. "Yeah, I don't eat with you guys in the Great Hall and I have Slytherins in my dorm when I sleep, and I also hang with Emily and Sarah-" "Just checking, Kathy." Harry muttered. "I understand though. Why would anyone want to stay in Slytherin?" Said Ron, emphatically. Obviously, it was the wrong thing to say to Kathy. "Hey, hey, watch it. I like my House, thank you very much. There was a reason that the Sorting Hat put me there. It's just that I get along with other people too. Kapish?" Kathy placed a hand on her hip. Harry gave up trying to argue with her. "Okay, just let me grab my book." Harry felt under his four-poster bed for his text. Kathy spied it beside the wastebasket and tucked it under her arm. "You take good care of your Divination book, don't you?" She commented. "So where's yours?" Harry pointed to all she was carrying, which was nothing-besides Harry's own text. "I have decided to share with you." Kathy said as if she had already talked to Harry about this. "Right." He said, complying reluctantly. Ron brightened up too. "That's great, now we only have one book to carry." Harry grinned listlessly. "Fine, but Kathy, you're carrying it." The three of them strolled nonchalantly towards their classmates under the bright, moonlit and starlit sky, with looks of curiosity and bemusement on their faces. "This sorta reminds me of 'Starry Night', by Van Gogh, only it's much better looking." Kathy commented on the deep blue silken sky sprinkled with a thick layer of shimmering golden stars. "Yes, very picturesque." Agreed Trent, talking from beside her. He turned to Harry and Ron. "Where's Hermione?" "Let's just say that she has better things to do than gawk at stars tonight." Ron supplied this answer for him. Trent was amused. "Really? If I'm not mistaken, the stars never lie. If you know about the centaurs, they are actually very precise in showing prophecies and can come in handy sometimes. It's just that.I believe you can change your fate. Well, I couldn't be sure; we studied them for a while at Hillfidger. It's not so simple to decipher what your future will bring but Divination is supposed to help you interpret the future. That's why we're here." Harry and Ron were taken aback by how seriously Trent took this subject they regarded as a big joke. But now that he has mentioned its true meaning, maybe there could actually be some truth to this class. And also, it reminded Harry of his prophecy.. "Actually, a centaur taught us a few Divination classes last year when Trelawney had been sacked. It was more helpful than spending two and half years with her." Harry told Trent in an undertone. "Yea, Umbridge was a nasty old hag. Even Trelawney didn't deserve that. Bet she's happy Dumbledore gave her the job back." Joined in Ron. The three guys laughed quietly. Harry glanced at Trent again. The way his black hair hung with a sort of special flair in his eyes reminded him of someone.. "Well, I heard Trelawney took some classes with her relatives, since they had been Seers, and she's been improving this year. Let's hope this lesson proves just that." Said Trent. When the rest of the two combined classes had met, Professor Trelawney glided out from behind Hagrid's hut weightlessly, as her way of greeting them. Ron shivered. "Ugh, I hate it when she does that. I always have to imagine wheels beneath her so it doesn't seem like she's floating on thin air." Kathy nudged both of them and pointed at what she was holding. People in the group also perceived this piece of news as strange. Professor Trelawney had in her right hand-a wand. As the students in Divination have learned in the previous years before, wands were not really necessary. All they needed was their "Inner Eye", as she called it. For Kathy, Divination was a breeze. This was a topic she didn't need to do research on, study for, or review. When time came to do the star charts and planetary orbit graphs, all Kathy had to do was either consult the contraband cosmology textbook she smuggled in her Hogwarts duffel bag the year before, or simply transfer her Astronomy homework to her Divination homework. It was a foolproof and smooth routine. Professor Trelawney raised her wand dramatically and performed many complicated wiggling motions. Ron started coughing spontaneously and Harry had to pat him hard on the back to make him stop laughing. "Y'know. I reckon she probably doesn't even know how to use a wand." Ron said, still "coughing", but adding a few eye-rolling movements occasionally. Ignoring Ron's egregious behaviour, Professor Trelawney drew many stars with the tip of her wand on the evening atmosphere and they supernaturally stayed intact in the air. In the background, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil and Emily were oohing and ahhing. At this, she gave them all dewy smiles hinted with smugness. "Now class, I am going to impress upon you all the importance of the transit and arrangement of the stars. Tonight, I will show you the truthful powers and beautiful grace of the twilight stars. They can tell you many things, if you are willing to listen and believe." For some reason, Professor Trelawney looked straight at Ron and Harry when she said this. "But this all depends on how much meticulousness and patience you possess. May I have a volunteer?" Most people-besides Harry-liked to volunteer during Divination because they liked to predict what Professor Trelawney would say each time. Harry didn't need to predict what she was going to say because he knew she was going to tell him that he would be sure to die soon, and also get eaten by a Hippogriff, or something. After three years of this, Harry thought it was time for her to lighten up. Professor Trelawney swept her orb-like eyes around the eyes and finally halted in Sarah's direction. "Miss Dialent, if you'll come to the front, please." Sarah looked a little disappointed in not being able to come to the front. But she was nevertheless excited about what Kathy had to do. "Miss Dialent, can you tell me what month you were born in?" Professor Trelawney asked in that indistinct, lingering voice she always used during class. Kathy smiled good-naturedly. "Oh, but you're good at this stuff. Guess, Professor." The misty smile she had on now faded. Kathy was nonplussed. "Okay, I'll give you a hint. It's the month after October." There was some scattered laughter in the crowd. Professor Trelawney pretended she hadn't noticed this. Instead, she had on a confident grin, much to Kathy's horror. "I think I am correct, my dear, in saying that you were born on November thirteenth. Excuse me, Friday the Thirteenth." Lavender, Parvati and Emily gasped in an exaggerated state of veneration. Ron looked at Harry and they both smirked. "Lucky guess." Muttered Ron, who knew very well that the date Professor Trelawney just said was indeed Kathy's serendipitous date of birth. Kathy was caught off-guard. She had expected her teacher to say something totally irrelevant. "Uh-yeah. November Friday the Thirteenth. Luckiest day of the year." She smiled, trying to hide her shock. Professor Trelawney grinned haughtily. "If everyone will raise their gaze up towards the heavens, you shall see how I was able to contrive that answer." All eyes rose obediently up to the bright, shining sky. They waited for Professor Trelawney to give further instructions. "Since the season is quick to approach winter, the diverse myriad of constellations are appearing now. Being born in mid-November, Miss Dialent here is labeled as a Scorpio; the planet Pluto and the stars around it winked at me tonight, signaling something special. I could tell that you had the aurora of being born on a Friday the Thirteenth. You all can do this too. Each month and day has a unique sign of its own. Stand under the sky during dusk or whenever the stars are visible and you can tell which month and day the person was born in, according to which stars and planets twinkle. "When Miss Dialent stood over here, I saw Pluto flashing and also thirteen little stars shining. It's quite easy. The time isn't early anymore, so your homework tonight will just be to test this trick out on a friend. Class is dismissed." Harry, Ron and Kathy were walking back to their dorms, all with pensive looks. "You know, I have to admit that Trent is a rather likable guy. He was right too-Trelawney improved a great deal." Commented Harry, casually. "I told you guys he was all right." Kathy said. When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Kathy paused suddenly, causing Ron to smack into her. She had just thought of something. "Whatssamatter?" Ron asked groggily, rubbing his head. "What did she mean by 'signaling something special'? Is something going to happen to me tonight that I'm not aware of?" Kathy wondered out loud. Harry shrugged. And spoke the password (Tinkerbell) to the Fat Lady. He held the door momentarily, in order to allow Ron to pass through and was getting ready to bid Kathy farewell when something happened. A slim streak of blinding white light, both simultaneously pure and dangerous-looking shone through the exposed portrait opening. Kathy's breath caught in her throat. She had never seen anything so frail, but so ghastly. The mere reflection of the pale light sent spine-tingling feelings down her spine. But almost as quick as it happened, the cryptic source of the light evanesced. Harry poked his head in the common room, unperturbed by everyone watching him inside. Ron was scratching his head, bewildered. "What the bloody hell was that?" He croaked out. Kathy shook her head dimly. "Whatever is was.it came from you, Gryffindors." She was quick to come to conclusion. Ron didn't take it as a compliment. "What'dya mean, you, Gryffindors? We don't know if it was aimed at us. For all you know, my dog, Gnome could have swallowed my wand!" "All I know.is that Professor Trelawney was right." And without further conversation, Kathy turned her heels the opposite direction towards the Slytherin Common Room, her head full of brain-wrecking puzzles. When Kathy awoke the next morning, she could not understand why she was clutching the necklace that Trent gave her. Chapter Twelve Christmas Cheer November passed swiftly by as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sarah, Emily and Kelsey helped Kathy celebrate her sixteenth birthday. It wasn't fancy or anything, but Ron smuggled some food from the kitchens and Hermione reluctantly allowed the Slytherins into the Gryffindor Common Room. Kathy reasoned that it was for a good cause, so Hermione gave in. As Winter Break approached, the Christmas cheer arrived with it. "Merry Christmas y'all!" Kathy got up early that morning and sneaked into the Gryffindor Common Room. Since it was winter break, she needn't worry about running into other people. Kathy bravely stormed into the boys' dormitories and began flinging pillows at them all. Usually, no one stays at Hogwarts for winter break. However, this year a few people like Artie, Neville and Colin Creevy stayed too. Unfortunately, Kathy didn't know that. "M-m-mornin'? Already?" Yawned Artie as he reached for his bundle of presents on his bedside. Kathy, mistaking him for Harry, hit him in the face with a pillow with full force. "Score! Come on! Everyone get up!" "What the hell?" Artie grabbed his own pillow and plunged it at Kathy. Soon, everyone stirred and got up to join the chaos. "Whoa.I think this is a bad time." Kathy's eyes widened after she surveyed the room with Neville, Artie, Colin, Harry and Ron in it. Harry grinned sleepily, grabbing his school robes absent-mindedly. "Kathy, what're you doing here? It's the boys' dormitories." Later, they were no sooner joined in by Hermione, looking jubilant in robes of cranberry red. Kathy placed one hand on her hip and stared at Harry. "You go to the girls' bathroom all the time with Ron-" Harry mouthed an urgent shut up at Kathy because they weren't the only ones in the room. Kathy gave a few nervous laughs. "Haha.yeah, well, sometimes there are no bathrooms nearby and you gotta go, then you just gotta go and any bathroom will do." "Just shut it, Kathy." Ron hissed quietly at her. She chuckled diversely again. "Haha, uh-I'll just shut up now.yeah." Kathy shifted her eyes downwards. Ron's white husky, Gnome, jumped up on his bed and started shoving all his presents up towards him. He gave him a few well-deserved pats. "He's much better than Scabbers, isn't he?" Commented Hermione. "Yeah.you won't try to murder Harry, will you, Gnome?" Ron gazed at Gnome with misty eyes. He reminded Harry of Hagrid when he looked at Norbert. The others in the room who didn't know anything about Peter Pettigrew looked confused. Kathy turned to them. "So why aren't you two in your dorms?" She asked, indicating to Colin and Artie, who were 5th Years. "We're the only Fifth Years staying behind, McGonagall told us to stay here. What? You got a problem wit that?" Kathy sighed. "God, Artie, it's Christmas. Lighten up already!" "Whatever, Merry Christmas, guys. Or however you British people say it. Happy Xmas, or something." He muttered. Hermione nudged all three of them. "Let's go down to the common room and open our presents." They sprinted down the winding staircase and each took their place in a comfortable armchair next to the rustling fireplace. Kathy touched her presents excitably, but then put them down. Hermione, being the careful observer she was, noticed. "What's wrong, Kathy?" Kathy had a faraway look in her eyes. She wanted to talk to them privately about something important and this was a good time to do so. On the night that the light blazed from the Gryffindor Common Room and out through the portrait, Kathy suspected that it had something to do with her "mission". She meant to discuss it with Harry and Ron, but no one ever brought it up again and with all the homework and Quidditch practices, Kathy had forgot about it too. Since Hermione didn't know about this and it was supposed to be between all four of them, Kathy decided that it was a good time to bring it up again. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak but- "Thanks, Kathy! This is grand!" Exclaimed Ron as he unwrapped Kathy's present. She had given all three of them special quills that had the ability to write on anything. Kathy smiled acknowledging her "you're welcome" at him and opened her mouth again. This time- "Hey, the present I gave you guys-we could use it on Malfoy!" Suggested Harry. Kathy gave him a dull look. "If we've got a good reason, that is." Said Harry, lowering his voice. Harry had given them all a funny little handbook entitled: How to Beat up your Enemy in the most Magical Way Possible. Hermione supplied everyone with packages of coloured parchment that were now very popular around school. It was great for addressing letters and also made reports look good. Out of the corner of Kathy's eyes, she spotted him crumpling all the pink coloured ones with a grimace on his face. She heard him whispering to Harry that it reminded him of Umbridge. Kathy closed her mouth. What was she doing anyways? Harry and Ron already knew about it and it obviously wasn't troubling their thoughts that Kathy might possibly be in mortal danger, so what was she worrying about? It was Christmas and she just might ruin the festive cheer when they needed it badly after the tough first semester of their 6th Year. So Kathy took another deep breath and chose the alternative option. She was going to have a little chat with Mr. Kinesse sometime. Ron had bestowed upon them palatable candies called cream swirl stars. They were the newest treats up at Honeydukes. When Kathy opened Hagrid's gift to the four of them, a radioactive glow seemed to be illuminating out from the box. Inside, hundreds of microscopic lights of all colours filled every inch of the small box. She read the note with fascination. Dear Harry, Hermione, Ron and Kathy - In here are fairy lights. One little light can burn up to hours once exposed to oxygen. Keep 'em in the box I gave ya for storing. I know you'll find way to use 'em. Happy Christmas, -Hagrid "Oh, wow.these are really rare! I hope Hagrid didn't do anything illegal to get them." Hermione noted. Ron's mom's homemade treacle pudding and knit caps were delightful too. Ron was particularly glad that she finally stopped knitting something else besides sweaters for Christmas presents. After the group gifts, they all still had more presents from different people. "Who's that from, Hermione?" Asked Harry with hidden interest. "I don't know." Hermione blushed and hastily tried to stuff her present away but Ron was too quick for her. He opened the note and began reading out loud. "'Dear Hermy-own-ninny, I love you very much. But seeing that Ron and Harry are so much better looking than I am, you'll understand the reason for us breaking up. There is too much competition for me to handle. That is all, Hermy-own-ninny. Signed Victor Krum.'" Read Ron. Kathy and Harry burst out laughing. "That is not what it says! Give me that note!" Yelled Hermione. "Leave her alone. I got a present from Krum too." Kathy told them. "You did?" Asked Harry, who was so surprised that a piece of chocolate he was eating fell out of his mouth. "No, just kidding, but I don't know who it's from. I know all the others.see, Emily gave me two coloured bottles of gel ink and Sarah gave me a bottle of body lotion potion. They went back home for the holidays. Oh, there's more. Kelsey gave me a new purse and my parents gave me a new book I wanted. But then.who's this from?" Kathy frowned at the last neatly wrapped present-a pastel pink silk-bound diary. "Hand it over, lemme see." Kathy passed it to Ron, who examined the lovely diary scrutinizing it, but not being able to come up with a conclusion. "Is there a note?" Harry carefully peeled off the tissue paper attached to the diary. Sure enough, a tiny note fell out. "It says 'now you can express your feelings'.hey! I know that handwriting. It's, it's.Mr. Kinesse's!" Shouted Harry. "Mr. C?! Oh, I feel bad now. I didn't get any of my teachers a present. Maybe I'll make him a card." Kathy picked up the diary and ran her finger down the gold-leafed pages. "Why did he have to be so mysterious about it? It's just a Christmas present. You sure, it's him, Harry?" Harry nodded. "That's his handwriting on the papers we get back all right." Hermione looked through the diary too, hoping to find the answer. "Kathy, I think you should be careful about what you write in here." Kathy didn't quite understand her meaning. "Why? You don't think he jinxed it, do you?" Hermione shrugged. "Who knows? There is something weird about him that I don't completely understand. Why didn't he want you to know it's him? There has to be something you don't know about too." "Sure. There's a lot of stuff I dunno about. You don't like him, or something, Hermione?" Kathy asked softly. Hermione squirmed a little in her seat. "Don't you think it strange." Began Hermione slowly, "that Mr. Kinesse is a bodyguard and no one else knows? Yes, I know that he's working undercover." She added by the look on Kathy's face. "But Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape must have guessed his whereabouts before they let him become a teacher here. This school is under high security. You-know-who, er-all right, Voldemort was temporarily controlled last year, but everyone's still paranoid and the Order of the Phoenix has not been annulled yet. The members from it are still on their best lookout. Is it possible that Mr. Kinesse is telling the truth? What exactly does he want from you?" All the troubling doubts from Hermione just tumbled out. Kathy's dark brows knitted together. "He told me that he wants my help to find the 'thing'. That's all. When I do find it, the CIA and him will do the rest. I know everything he says sounds whacked.but all the same, I just can't help trusting him. He gives me this 'at-home' feeling. I dunno, it's hard to explain." Hermione looked imploringly at her. "Watch your back, Kathy. Don't be too sure of anyone around here." Kathy grinned. "Not even you guys?" Hermione waved her hand aside. "Except us, that is. We're trying to help you!" "Yeah, yeah. I know. What I would do without you guys?" She smiled trustingly at the three of them. It was times like these that Kathy felt the most gratitude. Besides Harry, Hermione and Ron, who else would be willing to truly want to help her?  
*** There was definitely a Christmas air in Hogwarts. Too bad most students were away at this time and had to miss the ornate decorations. The usual twelve Christmas trees were spread across the Great Hall, bright streamers of gold tinsel were woven in and around the doorways throughout the castle, and golden star confetti sprinkled non-stop in the air under the enchanted deep blue ceiling. The view was breathtaking. But the most majestic Christmas thing was the feast. There were mouth-watering honey suckle hams, colourful Christmas garden salads, expertly-prepared roast beef, creamy mashed potatoes, an immense honey-glazed turkey as the principal dish, delectable cream pastries, all topped with an accurate model of the Hogwarts castle made with cream cheese, chocolate, syrups and other various custards. Every detail was carefully put into the edible model. The glass was made of sugar crystal and the doors were made with dark French chocolate. The house- elves down in the kitchens had really out-done themselves this Christmas. No one would eat the model. It looked too exquisite to eat and destroy, so Dumbledore magically produced another copy of model so that it would not spoil when it was put on display, while they ate the original specimen with pleasure. The ghosts had probably smelled the food too because they floated down to where the festive cheer was and joined in the holiday spirit. It was a great Christmas gathering. Even Artie looked didn't look quite so surly today, as Kathy noticed. After the magnificent Christmas banquet, Kathy, Ron, Hermione and Harry walked back to the Gryffindor common room together, tummies full and delighted. Kathy stopped abruptly before saying goodbye. "When is the Potions essay due?" She asked, her eyes round with guilt. "The first day after winter break." Answered Hermione promptly. Kathy looked downcast. "Shoot.I haven't even started.um, gotta run to the biblioteca and start on my tarea! Uh-bye-uh-merry, sorry, forgot you were British-happy Christmas-" Turning on her heels, Kathy sprinted away. Ron grinned. "I finally found someone who procrastinates more than I do." "That's nothing to brag about." Sniffed Hermione. "And I finally found someone who can speak another language randomly." Added Harry, because he was a Parseltongue. In the library, Kathy found that Trent and Draco were working on the essay for Mr. Kinesse too. "Hey, Trent dog. Draco dog. Workin' on the essay too? You guys got done with the feast pretty quickly then." Trent looked up, his perfect black hair flinging upwards as he tossed it. "Oh, this? This is an extra credit assignment. I was finished a while ago. I like using the library at this time 'cuz there aren't any people and Madame Pince doesn't mind." Trent answered. "Draco found a couple of good research books. You can use these two if you want. You're done with it, right Draco?" Trent picked out two books from their pile and handed them to her. Kathy looked delightedly at them. "You guys are life-savers. I owe you. Well, I can't stay, I wanna get back, ya know, send a few more presents. So I'll catch you guys lata. ¡Feliz Navidad!" She yelled merrily after checking out the books. "Merry Christmas to you too." Called Trent after her. Draco stared at Trent. "Special language you two made up?" Trent smiled openly. "No. It's called 'Spanish'." Chapter Thirteen Round One Oliver Wood and Mr. Kinesse gathered everyone on the Hogwarts Quidditch Team for a special practice/meeting in the middle of January when all the students came back from winter vacation. "When is our first match against Hillfidger again?" Asked Laura lazily, stretching her arms over her head. "Next week." Answered Oliver, looking very serious about it. "We have exactly seven days to get into tiptop shape. I'm glad you all came to practices all during the school days in December and early January, but we have to work harder. Practices are going to be held all this week at seven. We want to give Hillfidger a powerful first impression on round one." "Next week?" Repeated Kathy faintly. "You're sure you got the date right, Oliver?" Artie asked tensely. Even he seemed unprepared. Oliver's eyes glinted steely. "Oh, but this match is different. For the premiere round, we're allowed to use.magic." At this, everyone's enthusiasm level kicked up three or four notches and the depression level lowered five. "There's so much we can do! I could jinx one person, curse another, put a spell on someone else.oh, the possibilities." Said Kathy dreamily. Artie laughed. "Fisher Price ®." Mr. Kinesse chuckled lightly too, but no one else blinked. Oliver looked dubiously over in Kathy's direction. "Okay, we can't do that, Kathy. There are still rules that apply and we don't want to get penalties. I meant legal spells and charms. Like, for Chasers, a good way to get the ball is to unarm the person with the Quaffle with the disarming charm and snatch it. Or Harry, you can petrify the Snitch in midair with a freezing charm and catch it. Whatever we're doing, it's going to be one hell of a first game, you can bet." Said Oliver, rubbing his hands together with glee. All doubts forgotten, Kathy looked earnestly at Oliver, happily awaiting the first round of Quidditch against Hillfidger.  
*** By next week, their team had a perfect routine coordinated by Oliver and Mr. Kinesse. Friends from our fellow Quidditch members came to encourage them all through the week, so naturally, everyone's confidence level was at its highest about wining. On Monday, Cho and one of her Ravenclaw friends came to cheer on Laura and Harry. He had to disguise his embarrassment thoroughly. Kathy saw this and teased poor Harry about it that entire rest of the day. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Ginny, Hagrid, Ron, Hermione and Kelsey came to watch Kathy and Harry play. On Thursday, the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team came to watch Harry and Artie; lastly, on Friday, the rest of the Slytherin and Hufflepuff Quidditch Teams went to see how Kathy, Sarah, Jonathon and Brad were doing. On the day of their first round against Hillfidger, the Hogwarts Quidditch Team stood defiantly out in the field, awaiting their adversary team. There was a strong, billowing breeze that day and Kathy shaded her eyes from the sun in order to look up. She squinted hard upwards because she thought she had seen people in broomsticks flying towards them, but that was highly doubtful.. Sarah began shouting and flailing her arms, trying to get others to acknowledge that their opponents were here. Everyone was impressed by their mode of transportation.all, except Artie, who was smirking widely. Harry noticed his queer behaviour and walked over to him. He had suddenly figured something out. "I forgot. You were from Hillfidger, aren't you? Is that how you knew earlier than the rest of us?" "Yeah. I was on the Quidditch team there too." He said. As both teams settled down on the smoothly cut Quidditch field, Oliver, Mr. Kinesse and Madame Hooch strolled over to the Hillfidger team advisors. A tall, buff man with bleached blond hair stuck out a hand for Mr. Kinesse to shake. He had large arm muscles visible, even under his winter robes. "Hey, how's it goin' in Hogwarts?" The advisor asked in a ringing, hearty voice. He took turns shaking each of their hands and eyed Mr. Kinesse a while longer. "Hey, didn't you use to go to Hillfidger? Remember me, dude? We were in the same year." Mr. Kinesse smiled jovially. "'Course, Mike. I'm teaching here. Let's make this a good game, how 'bout it?" Straight, white teeth showed from Mike's smile. He gathered his team up and made them shake hands with the Hogwarts team. It seemed like all but one of the Hillfidger players recognized Artie. They greeted him warmly and seemed fond of one another. "How do you like it in Hogwarts, Artie?" A tall, thin girl with round glasses and long black hair asked. "It's all right, I guess. Doin', good then, Gigi?" Artie said. The girl named Gigi shrugged. "Boring, actually. Let's see if you've improved." She grinned and hopped on her broomstick. Artie smirked after her. He looked determined to show her. Fans from both sides were cheering and plaudits were thrown from every which direction. Kathy looked around and smiled broadly at the world. She wasn't a bit nervous. Her teammates, on the other hand, weren't looking so spry. On Kathy's left-hand side, her fellow Chaser, Laura, was trembling. She shook Laura's shoulders to waken her. "Laura. We're gonna do fine. They seem like a nice bunch of kids, and we got our routine all planned out. Don't worry, Sarah and I have you back." Kathy consoled her. Despite many things being to their advantages, there was still one tiny setback. Since it was January, the weather was terribly brisk. Both teams shivered in their Quidditch robes. The Hogwarts team had modified their usual black and made them into sport robes; complete with hood and drawstring. The Hillfidger team had flashy robes of red, white and blue. Personally, Kathy thought it seemed a little tacky.but at least it was patriotic. Trying to clear their minds and shake off the feeling of coldness, the Hogwarts Quidditch Team stepped formally out onto the middle of the field. "You all may mount your brooms. On my whistle." A sharp blast from Madame Hooch's whistle pierced through the cold, stale air and fourteen players zoomed off to find their designated positions in midair. "The first round of the Quidditch Academic Cup hosted at Hogwarts begins!" Announced Ron in a booming loud voice. He was also feeling slightly apprehensive because he wanted Hogwarts to show off some of its moves to impress the new crowd. "Hogwarts gets into possession with Chaser, Kathy Dialent! Nice speed there, Kathy. Of course, the Thunder Streak's speed broke the sound barrier, being the fastest broom ever made. And she makes for the goal and.awww.a good save by the Hillfidger Keeper, Jackie Eefyu.hmm, is that how you pronounce it? Seems a bit rude, actually.anyways, he performs a quick disarming spell and catches Kathy of-guard." Ron said, devastated. "Come on, Kathy." He rooted in an undertone. He needn't worry because Kathy wasn't going to settle for not making the goal either. She sped across the stadium, dodging the Bludgers being pelted at her by the Hillfidger Beaters-one of them, being Gigi. She decided that it was time to do some tag-teaming. Kathy flew beside the nearest fellow Chaser (being Laura at the time) and shouted to her. "Laura! I think that girl with the long brown hair has the Quaffle right now. Do you think you can steal it if we surround her?" Laura was starting to forget that she was nervous before this. "No prob. Take the right." Kathy and Laura aimed straight for the Hillfidger Chaser with the brown hair and were in the process of enclosing the space around her when they found out it wasn't necessary. The poor girl, thinking that Kathy and Laura wanted to slam into her, threw the Quaffle away from her as far as she could in terror. Slapping a hand to her forehead, Kathy spotted Sarah behind her, just in time. "Get the Quaffle!" She shouted, and not a moment too soon. Sarah whipped around and nearly got the wind knocked out of her as the Quaffle came pelting into her arms. Sarah gave a weak smile and threw it to Kathy. "Uff.you shoot, Kathy." She groaned, patting her chest. Kathy caught the ball deftly; pointing her wand directly at the Quaffle, Kathy yelled a charm she just recently learned in Charms. "Aimius!" The Quaffle magically shot in a straight line towards the opposite goal and went in. Even Jackie Eefyu didn't know how to stop that one. The Hogwarts side of the raised bleachers went wild. "Using a clever aiming charm, Kathy sends the Quaffle into the goal post, making the score, ten to nothing, Hogwarts!" Ron declared with pleasure. Meanwhile, Harry was weaving through everyone in midair trying to spot the Snitch. "Harry! You're encircling the crowd way too low. Don't focus on the game, as long as you concentrate hard, it'll be easy! Don't tail their Seeker; I can tell she's a good flyer, but your broom beats hers a hundred to nothing, so just go with your own routine and you'll do fine!" Oliver hollered at him down at the grounds, watching excitably. Suddenly, Harry felt a huge surge of pressure being released unto him. If he doesn't catch the Snitch in time, their team will never have another shot at it. This was their first game and he just had to show off some of his skills. Knowing that he shouldn't worry about the others, Harry couldn't help but sneak a peak at the scoreboard. His breath caught in his throat. They were forty points behind. It looked like the Hillfidger Team had a wining collection of prized Chasers, streaking through the air like coloured comets and shooting with shocking precision. His energy level running high, Harry veered up and down, in and around the other players, hoping to catch even the tinniest glimmer of the Golden Snitch. Without warning, Kathy smashed into Harry's left side. Both were so unprepared at what just happened, that Kathy's impact sent Harry hanging unto his Firebolt for dear life. "What happened?" Harry croaked out, as he managed to remain seated again. Looking disheveled, Kathy managed to speak. "The Hillfidger Seeker, Casey, or something did a temporary freezing charm on me. I don't think I should've tried to fight it because after ten seconds, I almost got knocked me off my broom from my own resistance. She's pretty good." Kathy redid her flyaway hair into a tight bun. With an encouraging air, she clapped Harry on the back. "It's okay. I'll find a way to get 'em back. We're tied right now, 'cuz Brad smacked both Bludgers at Hillfidger and their Chasers got all confused. When they were zoning off, Sarah scored three times in a row! Yeah, so just jinx that Casey girl and we'll do fine." She winked at him and flew off to resume her place. Harry swerved around her and spotted Casey right behind him, trying to tail him instead of searching for the Snitch herself. He smiled to himself; time to try the move that he was dying to two summers before when he just witnessed it. Faking a look of stern concentration, Harry dived vertically down and caught a glimpse of Casey doing the same. Smiling, he pulled his Firebolt sharply up from the dive and beamed around at the cheering crowd. Perfect. But the occasion didn't last long. Harry did two laps around the stadium and looked in time to see that the Snitch was hanging around dangerously close to Casey, who also was heading for the Snitch. He put a serious mask of grimness and urged his Firebolt to go full-tilt. "Harry! You'd better use some magic! She's gonna get the Snitch!" Jonathon yelled over the screaming crowd. Harry racked his mind and nodded, determined to let nothing stand in his way of getting the Snitch. "Obliviate!" Someone roared, but it wasn't Harry. Casey stopped abruptly in midair with a baffled _expression on her round face. The Snitch zoomed towards one of the Beaters from Hillfidger. Eager to get away from Harry's wrathful _expression, they fled, leaving a wide berth for him. Blocking the front of the Snitch, Harry performed a sharp dive that sent girls shrieking in the crowd on both sides. Lifting up his broom at the very last moment, Harry had a dazzled grin lit upon his glowing face. The rest of the Hogwarts Team flew down beside him and screamed. Harry was getting planted to the ground because of so many people patting his back. He smiled dazedly and heard Ron's distant voice in the background. "And today, the outcome of the match goes to.Hogwarts! With sensational teamwork, Hogwarts is qualified to compete in the final match in the spring. Hillfidger, you guys have been humble losers, which isn't such an easy thing to pretend either, so give it up people, for the victorious Hogwarts Quidditch Team, led by Oliver Wood, Professor Kinesse and Madame Hooch!" The students from Hogwarts screamed until their voices were raw. Kathy's eyes were shining with contentment. This was a wonderful beginning. "And now, we want our guest competitors not feel too bad, so give it up, for the Hillfidger Quidditch Team!" Ron's prodigious voice boomed. Polite applause was also given to their opposing team. The Hillfidger players accepted it graciously. Kathy squeezed through the crowd that was hailing Harry and patted him on the back. "Nice Wronski Feint, Harry." Harry grinned from ear to ear. "Tell that to Krum; I learned it from him." Oliver and Professor Kinesse came over to congratulate them at that moment, totally speechless. "You-y-you guys.were superb." Croaked Oliver hoarsely. "But I have one question. Who shouted the memory charm?" Harry almost forgot. Someone behind him yelled out a charm.but it wasn't him. He needed to thank whoever that said that because it allowed for their victory. Harry looked around for the mystery person to show him/herself. "Artie, you might want to come with me for a minute." Mr. Kinesse said quietly, motioning for Artie to follow him. Harry glanced their way. "Artie? You were the one who said the charm?" He asked, incredulous. "Yeah. Helped, didn't I?" He asked, smiling. Harry smiled back. "Yea. Thanks-" "Sure." Artie mumbled and followed Mr. Kinesse. He led Artie to where the Hillfidger team stood; all were facing a great misery. Casey seemed to be the only cheerful one there, strangely enough. "So.why am I here again?" Casey asked, looking wide-eyed at everyone. Professor Kinesse was eyeing Artie thoughtfully. "I liked your memory charm, Artie. But hopefully, you know the counter- charm to it, because I think she would be more than happy to have her memory back." Artie muttered something under his breath and Casey instantly lost that glazed look. Mr. Kinesse led him back to where Hogwarts students were celebrating. "'Dya learn that from Hillfidger?" Mr. Kinesse asked him, subtly suspicious. "Most people don't know the counter-charm." "Yeah, think so." Mr. Kinesse wasn't convinced. "Oh.I don't remember learning memory charms at all when I was at Hillfidger." He commented causally. Artie didn't even move a muscle. "They probably changed the curriculum." "Probably.." Said Mr. Kinesse, nodding off. Chapter Fourteen A Mushy Atmosphere In spite of the extra workload that Sixth Years got, weekly Quidditch practices, and visits once in a while to Mr. Kinesse for advice on catching Kathy's enemy, pleasant stops by at Hagrid's were quite forgotten. So during one breezy February afternoon, the four of them decided to visit Hagrid in his merry little hut. As always during this time of year, his hut looked like a gingerbread house covered in icing. Kathy was almost tempted to bite the door. "Happy Valentine's Day, Hagrid!" They screamed as Fang greeted them at the door, barking like mad. "Well, it's certainly about time yeh visited me! And on a rather busy day too. But I'll guess I'll have to push aside some of me duties to greet yeh." Hagrid muttered with a sarcastic tone. "Hagrid, we've been so busy with everything! We're all really sorry we haven't stopped by on a regular basis to see you!" Kathy explained. "Ah.come in and make yerselves comfy! Y' know I can't let yeh out in the cold. Wait till yeh try my new recipe for Valentine sugar cookies." Hagrid said gleefully. The four of them looked at each other with a comically agitated _expression. "Um.maybe another time, Hagrid. I'm sure they taste wonderful, but uh-we just had a teeming breakfast from Hogwarts. Tea would be good though." Excused Kathy. Hermione, Ron and Harry felt a gentle wave of gratitude towards Kathy that saved them the distress of eating Hagrid-food. "A'right then if yeh please. Tea it is." Hagrid then bustled over to his kettle to busy himself with making tea. "Hagrid, did you hear about our Quidditch match?" Asked Harry, successfully starting conversation. Quidditch will always be a hot topic to converse about. "You bet yer doggies! Mr. Kinesse told me about it and I'm mighty proud, Harry and Kathy. Mark my words, Hogwarts is goin' to win this Academic Cup with the kind of players they got this year!" Hagrid's beetle-black twinkled merrily. Kathy and Harry blushed up a storm. "Oh, yeah.that reminds me! We made you a special Valentine card!" Kathy reached into her bag and handed Hagrid a glossy red piece of parchment with moving pictures of hearts and cupids with arrows. "Aw.yeh shouldn't have." Hagrid gushed, peering fondly at the card. No one needed to say anything because they were glad that Hagrid liked it.  
*** "I'm so glad Professor Dumbledore decided to cancel classes on Valentine's Day.not that it's my favourite holiday or anything." Harry quickly added. "Did you guys get any cards?" Asked Kathy. "I got one from Dobby.Ron's mum.Hagrid.one from you, Kathy, and a toilet seat from Fred and George!" Replied Harry. Hermione looked outraged. "That's gross! Trust them to think up something like that!" Harry grinned. "You don't get it, Hermione. It's an inside joke." "I got a card from Mum, Ginny, Kathy and Hagrid." Answered Ron. "Oh, well.I got a few cards." Muttered Hermione waveringly. Ron eyed her. "From who?" "Hagrid, Kathy, your mum, Ginny, Professor McGonagall and.Krum." Hermione went a shade of magenta after revealing these two names. "Did Vicki send his love?" Ron asked with sarcasm dripping. "I got ones from Ginny, Hagrid, Ron's mom and I think.Mr. Kinesse." Said Kathy flipping through her small pile. Ron frowned. "Him again? I think he definitely favours you." Kathy shrugged and pocketed it the red envelope. Harry caught a tiny glimpse of it before she crammed it inside. "Hey Kathy.I don't think that's Mr. Kinesse's handwriting..well, it sorta looked like it, can I see it again?" Before anybody could question Kathy about her mysterious red card, Ginny appeared in the library, apparently searching for them. "Does anyone have some coloured parchment I could borrow to make a Valentine?" Ginny looked like she was in an awful hurried situation. "Yeah, I got some up in my dorm. Wanna come with me to get some?" Said Kathy. Ginny looked at Hermione and hesitated a little. Hermione rolled her eyes and obliged. "All right, go on, you two." They ran all the way to the Slytherin Common Room and when Ginny was inside her dorm too, Kathy gave her some colourful paper. "So.who's the card for?" Kathy asked slyly. Ginny was busy scrawling away with her quill. "Oh.uh-no one in particular. It's just a last minute-thing for.mum. I forgot to reply back to her letter earlier, that's all." She lied quickly. Kathy didn't look convinced at all. She surreptitiously slipped her hand under the sheet of paper and tore it out of Ginny's reach. "Dear Art-" Kathy began to read aloud. Several things happened after she said that. Ginny shrieked loud enough for Kathy to drop the card. Then she grabbed it, but it was too late. The truth was out. Kathy's dark eyes widened. "You-like-ARTIE?! HA! Wait till-" Kathy fished out the answer. Ginny looked dreadfully embarrassed. Kathy's _expression softened. "Oh, yeah.sorry Ginny. But you know I would never tell anyone. I was just curious. So.when didya start liking him?" Kathy gave Ginny a wink. She wavered for a second, then began. "Well.you know that day he knocked all your books down in the hallways?" Kathy nodded suspiciously. "Yeah.oh no. Don't tell me-" "That's why I'm always at Quidditch practices and I ask Ron information on every one of the players. I think he's really.something." Ginny explained with glazed eyes. Kathy was a little taken off guard. "Well, he's definitely not nothing." Kathy said, rolling her eyes. "Didn't you like Michael Corner, or something.?" Kathy brought up. Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh my God, that was last year. I'm so over him now. He was with Cho anyways." "Okay, okay, so I'm not up-to-date." Kathy put her hands up defensively. "Wait.no, I heard Cho dumped him this year from Pansy a few weeks ago.or was she just gossiping.?" "No, that was true. If you ask me, Cho's still warm over Harry. She's not over him yet." Ginny said knowingly. "But Harry's over her, I think. He used to blush all the time last year when she came near him! But now, he won't even look at her when she walks by." Kathy said. Ginny gave her a serious look. "Getting back to Artie.you better not tell anyone, Kathy. I don't want anyone to know." "Of course, girl. If you don't want me to say anything, then my lips are sealed." Kathy made a motion with her fingers as if to zip up her lips. She paused for a slight second. "Since you told me who you liked.I guess I have to tell you who I like." Kathy smiled ambiguously. Ginny's eyes went bright. "I know! Malfoy!" She yelled. "No.that was last year. I like-" "Trent!" Kathy gave her another irked look. "No.stop guessing-" But Ginny interrupted once again. "Mr. Kinesse!" "No.but he is kinda cute. Okay! Listen, girl! I'm not sure I like-like him, but he's really adorable." "Who?" Ginny asked paradoxically. "Shut up and I'll tell you! Geez! Okay.I like Wood." Ginny thought for a moment. "You like wood? Wait, you don't mean.Oliver Wood?" But Kathy nodded. "He's so much older than you! By four whole years! And he's your coach!" "So? Artie is a little older than you are too. So is Harry." Kathy pointed out. Ginny dismissed those facts. "Oh, but we're still close in age. And Artie's in all my classes!" "Good point. But you know what? This year's Quidditch Team has some hot guys." Both giggled when Kathy said that. "Ginny! We should talk more often. So.what do you think of Harry now? Are you still shy around him?" Kathy bantered. Ginny flushed a blazing shade of crimson. "I'm over him now! I only liked Harry for a few years anyways. It's nothing now! He's still my friend and everything.but yea.okay, well, he's, whatever." She stuttered, not knowing what to tell Kathy. Kathy howled with laughter. "Hehehe, Ginny! You crack me up! 'Oh, I only liked him for a few years.'" Kathy imitated her in a shrill voice. Ginny was not appreciating this behaviour from Kathy. "Shut up!" "Hey Ginny, it's almost four o'clock. I gotta go meet up with Mr. Kinesse for something in his office. I'll see you!"  
*** "Harry! Hey Harry wait up!" Colin Creevey ran up to him in the middle of the hallway on the second floor. Harry stopped reluctantly. "Colin? Yea, what is it?" "Kathy passed out while talking with Mr. Kinesse! He told me to tell you guys 'cause I was passing by his door and he thought you'd want to know. She's in the hospital wing right now." He informed them. "Oh yea, by the way, Happy Valentine's Day!" Harry brushed him aside. "WHAT?!" When Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed to the hospital wing, Kathy was indeed lying unconscious on a bed. Chapter Fifteen As soon as Harry, Hermione and Ron heard this piece of news, they forgot their next class and dashed to Madame Pomfrey. "Kathy! What the hell happened to you?" Harry screamed at the motionless figure lying on the white hospital bed. ".How did she get like this?" Hermione was sniffling. Harry turned accusingly to Mr. Kinesse with an incensed _expression on his face. Ron had gone momentarily mute. "What happened to Kathy?" Mr. Kinesse was a little surprised at Harry's irate _expression and tone of voice. "Take it easy now, guys. If you want the whole story, you're going to have to trust me on this and calm down. Adopting a frenetic attitude ain't goin' to help no one, a'ight?" Mr. Kinesse was speaking docilely and annunciating clearly, afraid they were going to miss a word. Harry relapsed into an obdurate silence. There were still times when he felt that anger management classes would be needed after his last year at Hogwarts. Some of the confusion between everything that's been going on this year seemed to have partially fallen into their correct places. Somewhere in his fathomless mind, something clicked. Harry thought back on the long conversation that he eavesdropped on between Kathy and Mr. Kinesse in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He mentioned a weapon.a very useful weapon that would somehow show itself to Kathy in the form of.of what though? Harry thought harder and was not really listening to Mr. Kinesse explain his theory of what happened in his office when Kathy wanted to talk to him. But wait-what did Kathy want to talk to him about.? ".She was in my room and we were discussing the device, you know, and Kathy was fine.but then I told her I was going to reshelf some books real quick. I had no clue what she was doing while I was gone for those two minutes to grab the books, 'cuz when I got back, I saw her reading a card.a valentine by the looks of it and then, she passed out." Hermione looked extremely skeptical. There were so many things she could question him about. She was about to speak out but got truncated by Harry the moment she opened her mouth. "What were you guys discussing?" "Well, she was telling me about the light." Mr. Kinesse said with some uncertainty. Hermione was sure she was missing something important here. "Light? What light?" Ron looked pensive too. A light flicked off somewhere in his brain, and something clunked into place. "Oh! The light that streaked in through the painting.that's right. Sorry, we meant to tell you." He looked over at Hermione. "Kathy should've went to me earlier about this. We now know that someone in Gryffindor has the device!" Mr. Kinesse was joyful for only a few seconds before he noticed Kathy lying unconscious on the hospital bed and lowered his voice. "This is a very important stage of our operation. Investigation." Harry frowned. It seemed like Mr. Kinesse cared more about the "mission" than his employee. He had to say something. "What about Kathy? So she was reading a valentine and then blacked out. What kind of explanation was that?" "I never said it was an explanation. It's not; it's what happened." All of them were quiet for a while, trying to think things out. Their situation was getting more complicated because whoever was after the device was taking out his anger out on Kathy, trying to get her to lose faith in her task. Harry was first to break the silence. "Mr. Kinesse, do you know how long it'll take for Kathy to.to get well again?" Mr. Kinesse stared hard at Harry for a second without wavering. "Kathy's not hurt at all, I checked with Madame Pomfrey on that the minute I got it. She's physically fine; but I have no idea what made her faint like that. I never thought you three would take this really seriously, but I was wrong. Kathy's lucky that she's got friends who actually care about her health." He gave a huge sigh and shuddered. "I'm not sure about anything right now, you guys can check with Madame Pomfrey again to make sure. I have to attend to my classes right now. Be on your best look out, kids." He turned on his heel and left. The moment Mr. Kinesse left the room, Hermione gathered them into a group huddle. "Oh.I don't have a good feeling about this at all. Kathy's in danger. Mr. Kinesse will now be more careful. He's watching her-" Hermione started to say. "Do you still think it's him, Hermione? After all he's trying to do-" Ron began. "After all he says he trying to do, you mean." Hermione corrected. "Of course, you guys don't have to agree with me. There is one other candidate too." "Yea.she's right." Agreed Harry. Ron was confused. "Like who? Who else wants to kick Kathy around until he gets the weapon, kill off You-Know-Who just so he can become the next evil git in town?" Ron asked caustically. "Think hard, Ron. Who has it in for Kathy? Who's always finding her faults and competing with her? I thought it would be quite clear, actually." Said Hermione. Ron did think. His eyes widened and he looked as though he just experienced an epiphany. "You're talking about.are you sure.wait, but-" Harry was impatient. "So who do you think it is?" "You don't think it's.Artie?" Both Harry and Hermione didn't respond immediately. It was Hermione that put their opinion into words though. "Well.we don't know for sure yet and there really isn't any direct evidence that points to him. It's just intuition but it's likely, don't you think?" "He had to pick a fight with Kathy on the first day they met, remember, I told you about it." Said Harry to Ron. Ron slowly nodded taking this new information in. "Yea, I remember, but I never thought he was evil, or anything." He looked to Hermione for confirmation because it's what he usually does. "I still think it's Mr. Kinesse. He knows more about this than anyone." "That's because he organized it! He's part of the CIA and he's told us all he knows." Pressed Harry, refusing to believe that Mr. Kinesse had anything bad to do with it. If they couldn't trust him, whom could they trust? Dumbledore might be able to.but Harry would be breaking his promise to Mr. Kinesse that he wouldn't tell anyone about this whole situation. "It's no use fuming around here in the hospital about it. Come on, let's go eat lunch and check with Madame Pomfrey." Hermione's idea was the most reasonable at this time and they followed suit. "Madame Pomfrey, how long do you think Kathy is going to be in here?" Harry asked her. "As long as she has to be. She's not in anything serious. I think your friend will revive well again tomorrow morning and be ready for classes after I make some reviving potion for her. Don't worry, she'll be fine." Madame Pomfrey smiled cordially and there was nothing untrustworthy about her jubilee smile. Harry sighed and left for the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione.  
*** At precisely nine o'clock the next day, Kathy was out of the hospital, just like Madame Pomfrey said. She didn't look at all like her usual self that first day back to class. There were dark circles under her already dark eyes, her hair was mussed, there was no colour in her cheeks and she had on a most melancholy utterance. "You sure seem to be enjoying yourself in Defense against the Dark Arts today, eh Kathy?" Ron said with an air of satire. This was not an accurate description of Kathy that day at all. She was feeling so depressed and downtrodden that even Quidditch practices couldn't take her mind off of her swirled thoughts. On one particular team practice several weeks before the final match, Kathy felt as if the whole world was ending. The whole team was affected by this because Kathy usually cheered things up and cracked at least three killer jokes each practice. Sarah was very distracted by her friend's behaviour and was not giving a hundred percent that day. During a quick time-out called by Oliver, Sarah pulled Kathy aside. "I heard about you in the hospital two days ago. Some freaks in Hufflepuff were telling me that you got a Howler for a valentine and it yelled so loud at you that you fainted. I don't know where they got that story from, but I was hoping you could tell me what the heck really went on that day." Kathy looked at Sarah and noticed genuine concern in her eyes. This mission of hers was completely confidential and no one else was supposed to know of it-albeit Harry, Ron and Hermione. She made a promise to Mr. Kinesse to keep it that way. But all the same, Kathy wanted to share her misery, in hopes of feeling better about this dilemma she was facing. Although, strange as it sounds.those Hufflepuffs were closer to what really happened that day to Kathy than Mr. Kinesse, and he was an eyewitness! Careful about not meeting her gaze squarely, Kathy spoke instead to Sarah's feet. "Um.yeah, that's more or less of what happened. I got this weird valentine and the frequency of the Howler was so high that my ear couldn't take it and I guess I must have fainted after that. It was all a blur now that I look back on it." Kathy felt horrible about lying, but it was much better than the alternative-having to endure the gossip of the entire school, not to mention the dangers of what might happen if someone found out about Mr. Kinesse. So it was best left at that. Sarah was very stunned as she listened to Kathy talk. She shrugged and grabbed her broom. "Oh, okay. If it was nothing big.those stupid jerks who sent you the Howler should think twice about what they're doing next time. Do you know who it was?" "No clue. Doesn't matter. It was probably some prank, that's all. C'mon, let's head back before Oliver starts yelling at us again." Sarah grinned a little. "I know you don't really mind if Oliver's yelling at you. Just as long as he's yelling at you, personally." Kathy grinned back. At least she could relax for the moment. Practice went pretty well, with the Beaters making some spectacular progress with their aiming and the Chasers figuring out new routines for the players from Hillfidger. It was easier this time around because it was going to be their second time playing them and the Americans' style was not soon to be forgotten. There was something very awkward though. Artie was silent for the entire practice session; totally immersed in the game. He didn't even stop to make any snide remarks at Kathy. It was almost as if he was purposely avoiding her. Not that Kathy ever did anything suspicious to him. Something very strange was going on. Harry was paying special attention to this and eyed Artie all through the game. He decided that he had to talk to Kathy sometime. Tonight was a good time. That night at seven, Kathy found a small piece of parchment tucked neatly into a crevice inside her Divination book. She read it and then left the common room to go to the library. Dashing heedlessly to the exit, Kathy smashed into something that was quite solid. "Uff." She fell down clumsily and felt someone pull her up. Rubbing her arm, Kathy looked up and forgot completely about the library. "You okay? This must be the second time we smacked into each other." The person who was talking to her was Trent. Kathy made sure her wand was safely inside her robes and then fled outside the Slytherin Common Room's exit without even biding him "adieu". She arrived in the library panting, where Harry and Hermione were already waiting for them. "Hey, what's up guys?" Kathy asked in a fake cheery voice that fooled no one. "Kathy, we need to talk to you about something very serious and important to your health so you'll have to listen to our advice." Hermione spoke grievously. "We've analyzed some facts and we think we know who your enemy is." Harry said candidly at once. "Look, if you guys still think it's Mr. Kinesse, you-" Started Kathy. "Not really. We arrived at some different conclusions after much controversy." Said Ron professionally. Hermione nodded appreciably at Ron for that. She looked around at the two guys and Harry and Ron both nodded their heads at her. Hermione continued after that affirmation. "We all believe that your rival, slash enemy, slash evil dark lord on the run is.Artie." Kathy didn't make any kind of response whatsoever. Unnerved, Hermione went on with her analysis. "Listen, it all makes entire sense. Remember, you don't have to believe us, or do whatever we tell you to, but I think it's at least fair to hear us out, because we want to help and we're worried. Will you give us that chance, Kathy?" Kathy hugged Hermione. "Sure. Spill everything ya got." "All right then, here goes. You have always felt uncomfortable around Artie, right? From the beginning, there was that 'enemy' feeling. Why did he try out for the Quidditch Team anyways? To get closer to you, Kathy. There were several unusual incidents in which he was somehow involved in with you, including the one where the thing shone." Hermione stopped and looked at Ron. He nodded and took over. "Yes, getting to that. We think we figured out what exactly happened on that day. It could've only been someone in Gryffindor because the 'thing' shone through the portrait hole from the Gryffindor Common Room. It has to be Artie." Ron nodded at Harry and he wrapped it up. "After he tried to curse you in Mr. Kinesse's room, he's avoiding you now because he's afraid you've already suspected it was him. The valentine wasn't from Mr. Kinesse, we reckon. It was from him and he probably put a curse on it so that's why you fainted in his classroom while reading it." Kathy stared with a pensive glance at them all, trying to piece together the close-to-finished puzzle. "But didn't you say that the handwriting on the card looked like it was from Mr. Kinesse, Harry? How come you changed your mind?" Kathy asked slowly. "That's why you have to be so careful. Artie's not stupid; in fact, he's a genius. But the thing is." Hermione turned to Harry for supporting details. "We think he already has the amulet." Harry said soberly. Kathy took a deep breath and began a short story. "About Artie-" She twiddled with her silver bangle bracelet. "There is one thing I've never told you guys." Hermione arched an eyebrow. "Since when were you mysterious?" Kathy smiled awkwardly, showing a sensitive side few have ever seen. "How do you know I'm not? Seriously guys, I'm not who you think I am.I'm-" Ron's eyes widened. "Is Mr. Kinesse and you in on some game that we don't know about, or something? All these aliases! What the heck is going on? Are you part of the CIA, or what?" Ron eyed her suspiciously. Kathy smiled softly at Ron. "No, no it's nothing that serious. It's just that.I act differently than how I really am. On the outside, people see me as hyperactive, perky and sure of myself. Some of it is true though, I do try to be cheerful.and I am optimistic, although I'm actually really shy and hardly ever sure of myself. So that's the big secret about me. You didn't need to go that far, Ron; geez.the CIA?" Ron grinned apologetically. "Yea, sorry about that." Kathy turned her gaze on all three of them. She continued with her short story. "At the beginning of the school year, Trent met me up on the North Tower to give me something. And you know what it was? The amulet. "For the longest time, I had no idea what Mr. Kinesse was talking about. He told me the weapon was a powerful little trinket and it was shiny. The description was hazy, but there was one helpful hint-he said the weapon could contact me by shining. So I immediately thought of the amulet Trent gave me and the exact words he said to me then. He said 'it might come in handy'. It all fits some how. And on that particular night, I have never thought to look down at my amulet when it shined, so I've come up with a theory and it all comes down to two possibilities." Harry, Hermione and Ron waited with utter stillness. "Either my own topaz amulet shone that night and I had the weapon on my neck all along, or." Hermione had a mental light bulb in her head that lit up. "Or there are two amulets!" There was a brief silence where everyone was stuck in their own private thoughts. "The first possibility is definitely more reasonable. If there are two amulets, it'd be a little too obvious if both of them were at Hogwarts, right? And why would Mr. Kinesse lie about the details, of all things? I think you have the amulet, Kathy." Harry said, looking cautiously at Kathy's neck. "Do I really?" Kathy muttered to herself and taking out the amulet to display it to them. "He gave you a big rock during the beginning of the school year?" Ron asked faintly. "Why couldn't I have friends like him?" He joked. "Why though?" Asked Hermione. Kathy shrugged. "It's getting late. And guys.thanks for everything. Thanks for taking the time and spending it on solving my problems. I appreciate it. So.I'll see you." Hermione looked anxiously at Kathy. "You're all right, then? You know, you don't have to keep it all inside you. I, well, Harry, Ron and I never knew what you were really like. If there's something you would want to talk about-" Kathy nodded appreciatively at Hermione, but walked out through the library door without another word. Harry frowned as she left. He turned to Ron and Hermione. "I don't think she's all right at all." They were both silent, but Harry could tell they agreed with him. Who could guess what was really on Kathy's mind this moment? Her personality had fathoms of feelings and emotions twisted inside. Harry sighed to himself while the three of them walked back to their dorms. She must be a very decent actress, to be able to pull off that totally opposite outlook, Harry thought. On the way back, none of them were in the mood for deep conversation, after all that analyzing and revelation. Once Hermione went back to the girls' dorms, Ron and Harry climbed stealthily into their four-poster beds. Ron pulled his covers up to his chin and caught Harry's eye. "That's something, isn't it? I would've never guessed that Kathy was the shy and insecure type. She always seems so self-assured and energetic." Harry nodded, but didn't want to continue on this topic. He didn't think Kathy would like too much if they started discussing something that she was very reluctant to tell them. Harry pulled his covers over him too and faced the ceiling. "Good night, Ron."  
*** Harry, Ron and Hermione were correct. They really didn't have a clue of what was on Kathy's mind this instant. Kathy didn't tell them everything she knew. She could be very mysterious when she wanted to be. It was her nature, and she Kathy didn't deny it. It was almost crystal clear who her enemy was right now. The incident that made her black out told her all she needed to know. But she couldn't be one hundred percent sure yet. There was still some time left for it. She rubbed the bridge of her nose. Kathy was practically drowning in fear at the thought of standing up to her enemy in front of Mr. Kinesse. For the time being however, Kathy had to put on a happy face, live through the last Quidditch match and raise her confidence level. She hated having to do this by herself, but she didn't want to take anyone down with her. There wasn't much of a choice, as far as Kathy could see. Chapter Sixteen Team Mascots "WHAT?!" The whole Quidditch Team screamed at Oliver. "Hey, hey, don't take your confusion out on me! Firstly, let me explain to you all what a team mascot is." Oliver acted as if he was talking to befuddled little children. Kathy noted that he was talking in a painful, restrained kind of way. "We know what a mascot is, Oliver. What we really want to know is how to get some decent team mascots before the start of the final school tournament. Which by the way is in ONE WEEK!" Artie yelled at him. He was in a particularly sour mood that whole day. After receiving a delightful detention from Snape for accidentally letting the stings of a Billywig loose on a couple of unfortunate students, Artie was being cranky to anyone who got on his nerves in the slightest bit. "Okay.here are a few examples of well-chosen team mascots for Quidditch tournaments. There are the hypnotic veelas from Bulgaria, and the tiny leprechauns with gold coins from Ireland, and also, the self-playing bagpipes from Scotland are interesting. Does anyone have even a slight idea of what our mascots should be?" Oliver was sounding a little feverish and he was not covering up his anxiety to find mascots very well either. The whole team was silent. "Does Hillfidger know about this, Oliver?" Asked Harry. He thought that at least if their competing team were also clueless, then their own team wouldn't feel quite as panic-stricken as they did at the moment. Oliver's head drooped down completely in defeat. "They knew about this a week ago. I overheard their team captain saying so yesterday. Er-Mike, whatshisface, or something." Oliver ground his teeth in anger. Everyone looked sympathetically at his nervous state. "We could have an assortment of lions, serpents, ravens and badgers that dance for us." Suggested Laura. Oliver glanced at her wistfully. "That's not a bad idea, Laura. Now, I'll just have to ask myself.WHERE IN THE WORLD CAN I GET THESE DANCING ANIMALS?" Oliver was acting sardonic to make up for his bad humor today. "What about laser animation characters, since we can't hire and train real, live mascots in less than a week." Artie participated in the conversation, though sullenly. "If I knew what the heck that was, Artie, I would gladly help you out. So.anyone else with impossible ideas? I suggest you all get rid of them in your mind so we can actually consider appropriate plans." Oliver was now becoming cynical. It made everyone else impatient too. "Y'know, Oliver. I actually have an idea." Proposed Kathy boldly. The team looked uncertainly at Kathy who was very certain herself. She was in a quandary but finally nodded to herself. "Yes." she muttered, "okay. I got the perfect mascots. It'll be great, Oliver." She gave him a sweet smile. Oliver looked graciously at her. "Good, good, so what is it?" Kathy winked at the whole team. "Can't tell; it's going to be a surprise. Everyone will know soon enough, just leave it to me." Oliver didn't really care at this moment. He just wanted to get this task out of their way so they could practice for the last match. "Well.okay then, since you sound so sure about what you're doing. Just don't do any blackmailing or high-jacking." Sarah and Harry gazed at Kathy with looks of distress. It sounded like almost the kind of thing she was heading for. But in this case, who knows? More importantly, who cares? "What the heck is she thinking?" Harry whispered urgently to her. "Tell me about it. It's a huge responsibility! How is she gonna find time?" Sarah whispered back to him. He shrugged in the end when the rest of the team didn't object. "At least Oliver approved Kathy's move." Harry mumbled to himself. Knowing Kathy, her idea was not going to be anything they'll expect. Not that he expected anything like this to happen anyways.  
*** "Hand in your two-page report on Acromantulas, everyone." Ordered Professor Snape. Kathy slapped a hand to her forehead.  
  
"Shoot! I was so busy with...ugh! Guess I'll have to do it now." Exclaimed Kathy. She tore off a scrap piece of Harry's extra parchment on their desk and scribbled something in less than a minute (Gryffindor and Slytherin were double-teaming so fortunately, Kathy was sitting next to Harry). Kathy shoved it to Hermione so she could hand it in from her table. Hermione glanced at her one-sentence report and shoved it back to her. Ron, who was sitting next to her, tried to look over Hermione's shoulder. "This is disgraceful! I think you should re-do it and then hand it to him, Kathy. He won't give you any points on this!" Hermione hissed at her. She was quite right. This is what Kathy's diminutive report looked like:  
Question: What is an Acromantula?  
Answer: A big hairy thing with a lot of legs. "At least she copied down the question." Ron commented, sniggering. "Bet Snape would love this." Kathy gave him an annoyed look. She was in no mood to re-do the report. Since Hermione refused to hand it in, Kathy took the paper and gave it to Professor Snape herself. He peered thoughtfully at it for a while. "What's this? Your report, Miss Dialent?" Kathy didn't even flinch when Snape read her scrap of parchment with a nasty look on his face. But instead of the detention she expected, Snape smiled-a rather nasty smile too, but a smile, nonetheless. "Hmm...it's actually very accurate. That is a vivid description of the beast. If you can answer this question, I'll give you full marks on your paper." Everyone stared at Kathy, inquisitive to see how she would do under Professor Snape's watchful eyes. Spending her Saturday afternoon in Snape's office didn't seem appealing to Kathy so she weighed her choices and chose to do it his way. Besides, she knew what she was doing, hopefully. "Okay.what's the question?"  
"What is the most curious thing an Acromantula can do?" Kathy thought for a while. She noticed Trent look wonderingly at her and for some queer reason, it gave Kathy more motivation to prove to Snape she wasn't an idiot. Well, at least not a complete one. "The Acromantula is a colossal spider that is near-impossible to train and is capable of human-speech." Kathy answered deftly. "Good." Snape said in his oily voice. "But if you knew that, why not write the report I assigned?" He asked without a change of _expression or emotion. "I didn't have any time." Kathy looked stonily at him. "Five points awarded to Gryffindor for studying, and five points subtracted for making up a bad excuse. Class dismissed." "That was a close call, Kathy. Remember when Snape favored you in the beginning of fifth year?" Ron asked, glad that Kathy got herself out in that scrape. Kathy gave a snort. "That didn't last long. Lucky you and Harry told me your story about Aragog and the Chamber of Secrets. So it's thanks to you guys." Kathy said. Hermione didn't congratulate her. "It was pure luck, I agree. But don't you do it again. You won't be so lucky next time." "Well, once I'm sure that no psychopath is out to get me next time, I'll actually put my mind on my studies and gladly finish the report." Kathy said apathetically, avoiding Hermione's gaze. Her _expression softened immediately. "I didn't mean to bring up that topic. You're right, I know you're feeling stressed; but if you need help with homework." "I'm all right, Hermione." Kathy said with the same utterance. Before Hermione could squeeze in another word of sympathy, a tall figure approached them from down the hall. "Mister Weasley, I'll need to see you right now for an important meeting. It concerns the Quidditch Team. I have to fill you in on what's coming." A confused Ron followed Professor McGonagall to her office. "I wonder-." Harry started looking after the backside of Ron. "She's going to be telling him about the team mascots, I suppose." Answered Hermione for him. Harry turned to her, surprised. "How do you know about the team mascots? I haven't even gotten around to telling you yet!" "You haven't, but Kathy did." Hermione said smugly. Harry just thought of another thing to ask Kathy. "Have you found our mascots yet?" "Huh? Oh, that. I'll look into it tonight. I.let's see, I haven't got much homework now and, uh-so-" Kathy stumbled. Harry looked sternly at her. "There are only three days until our final match. The whole team's counting on your effort, Kathy. You volunteered, so don't make Hogwarts look bad." Harry said apprehensively. Kathy smiled in a responsible way. "Harry, dude, can ya take a joke? Seriously! I found our mascots the day Oliver told us the news. I just need to practice the routine with them one last time. I got the whole act under control. Don't you trust me?" Harry smiled in relief. "Of course I trust you, Kathy. It's just that sometimes.you scare me." Harry bent down to avoid a punch Kathy threw him. Hermione smiled, but didn't say anything. "Aren't you worried about us, Hermione? The final match is soon and the outcome counts as everything!" Harry said. Hermione just smiled serenely again. Harry had the notion that she, too, was hiding something. After all, Hermione could be scary sometimes too. "About your playing, don't worry about that. Their Chasers are pretty good, but they're too competitive. Just relax and everything will go smooth." "But aren't you worried about the mascots? We wanna make a grand impression." Harry went on with the importance of the finale game. "You won't be let down then. Like Kathy said, she's got the act under control." Harry raised an eyebrow comically. "That's a big job, Kathy. With all the stuff you got going on.you're sure you can handle it? I can do some-" "Just worry about your own Seeker maneuvers. It'd be cool if you can work in another Wronski Feint." Kathy said sleekly. Harry wasn't satisfied with that answer alone. "Really, what are you two hiding?" Hermione ignored Harry. "C'mon, Kathy. Herbology is next. We'll get seats up in the front this time." Harry looked incredulously at the pair of them. "The female species. Who understands them?" A weeping image of Cho came into his mind from last year. He remembered Hermione being an expert on this subject and Ron suggesting to her that she make a book that explains their bizarre behaviours. "So whatever happened to that book of yours, Hermione?" He yelled down the hall to her, but the back of Hermione remained silent to him, talking instead, animatedly to Kathy. Chapter Seventeen Final Outcome "Breathe everyone! Just breathe, gather your thoughts because I know we're going to do fine!" Oliver was talking to the team, or more so-yelling his lungs out at them. It was only minutes before the final match against Hillfidger and the team was huddled in the locker room, trying not to lose their heads. "We will breathe once you've stopped yelling at us! You're making me more nervous by talking so loud, Oliver!" Snapped Kathy. She was very nervous herself because she had an extra responsibility-to guide the team mascots. Up to this point, Kathy had told no one on the team what the mascots were. It was a miracle for her to keep a secret like this for so long. She was such a chatterbox most of the time. Perhaps Kathy had other more urgent issues on her mind though.. Harry simply prayed in his mind that hopefully, Kathy thought of something appropriate for the match today. "Sorry," Oliver replied sheepishly in a much softer tone. "You're not the only one, Oliver." Harry pointed to Brad and Jonathon who were bouncing up and down in their seats, acting very hyped up. Artie looked like death. He was extremely chalky and white and had a gaunt look in his normally flashing green eyes. Laura and Sarah kept darting furtive glances at the clock at the wall. After an agonizing three minutes, they heard Ron's voice over the magnified microphone. "This is the final match of the Quidditch Academic Competition hosted at Hogwarts! Today's match outcome will determine the victor. Will it be the striving Hogwarts Team, who has triumphantly defeated the opposing team during their initial match in January? Or will it be the all-American, red, white and blue Hillfidger Team? Well, we'll never know until we see the whole match right, ladies and gentlemen, and ghosts, and pets, and.moving on.let the Hillfidger mascots please raise to the stage at this moment!" "He sounds more like a talk show host, doesn't he?" Said Hermione to Ginny, who were watching excitedly in the stands. Hermione had another important duty this time. Somehow, she had a special part in today's game. Grinning in anticipation on her on-coming task, Hermione's brown eyes shined in delight. The gleefulness was extremely contagious. Ginny had a big smile on her face and she looked to Hermione for more conversation but got a shock- she wasn't there anymore. A special stage was set up on the Quidditch field just for the occasion. White smoke rose up from the stage out from no where and when it had cleared, blue smoke engulfed the stage. Then, a soft red cloud whirled on the scene. The audience oohed and ahhed at this. A pop sound ended the smoke effect and five magnificent bald eagles streaked with navy blue and jet-black feathers appeared in an upside-down 'V' shape. The eagles flew around the entire field three times between coming to a halt in midair. The Hogwarts Team watched with amusement as the seven eagles formed the words: "Hillfidger for Victor" in air. As the little mascots flew away, they received tremendous amounts of applause. The proud Hillfidger Quidditch Team emerged on the field right after the applause. This time, they had shimmering white stars painted delicately on their already ostentatious robes. Oliver slapped a hand to his head. "Our mascots had better be just as good as theirs if not better. Where the hell is Kathy? Why couldn't she tell us her plan earlier?" He looked rabidly around to find her, but Kathy was no where in sight. In fact, Laura had disappeared without their noticing too. Harry blanched. This was not a very good way to start off the game. With missing teammates running lose around Hogwarts, they didn't even know where to begin to look for them. "Weren't they just in the girls' locker room with me? You guys saw them! Mr. Kinesse, didn't you?" Sarah said, frantically looking around her for any signs of them. "This is not good, guys." Muttered Jonathon. "'Not good'?! We're going to have to FORFEIT THE MATCH if they don't show up!" Oliver shook Jonathon hysterically. "Oliver-" Sarah began. She was close to biting her nails. Kathy had not even told her about her plan and Sarah didn't feel like just standing there. Their team was going to have to make a decision soon. While Oliver was screaming at them again, a huge wave of plaudits broke out among the crowd. He stopped suddenly and decided to look at what the commotion was all about. Out on the stage was a new group of people. Eight girls in black appeared. They made one neat, straight line. Closer inspection stated that they had snug-fitting leather tank tops, matching leather short skirts and sporty bleached-white pumps. Each girl clutched a pair of glittering silver pompoms in her hands. The Hogwarts Team guys craned their necks to get a better view. Sarah rolled her eyes, but ended up looking anyways. "Guys." She mumbled. "What's this? BY GOLLY, cheerleaders? Hmm.that must be Kathy in the front of the line, I could tell by her height, and looking noticeably smug and.bloody hell, HERMIONE?! What the ruddy hell are you doing there?!" Professor McGonagall made a grab for the mike, but Ron held steadfastly on. "Hold on, Professor, I'm not quite finished yet! And standing next to Kathy is Ciwen Doncan, a Sixth Year, I think from Hufflepuff.yea, Kelsey Hopkins, a Gryffindor Fifth Year, and standing behind her is Emily Chen, a Slytherin Sixth Year.yea, I see Laura behind Emily, who's on the team, then there's the previous Gryffindor Chaser, Lindsay James standing behind Hermione.um, and.wait, there's one more girl squeezed between Kathy and Ciwen, seeming to be about the same height.her face is turned, and oh! It's Miss Cho Chang, captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team! Well, there you have it! The Hogwarts Cheerleading squad! Let's see what moves they have in store for us! This is going to be one hell-sorry Professor, heck of a show today!" Ron stole one quick glance at Professor McGonagall who scowled. The crowd waited patiently for them to begin their routine. A tall girl with long black hair wearing a different getup stepped up on the stage. The cheerleaders were smiling, so obviously, this was also a part of the show. Halley Trishon was sporting a black long-sleeved shirt with the Hogwarts crest emblazoned on it and a loose pair of black velvet sweatpants. She looked sporty, but at the same time, dressed up. Kathy had picked out the outfit from her own trunk, but they had to magically elongate the sweatpants because Halley was a head taller than she was. Halley reached into her pocket dramatically, producing her wand. She held it up like a musical conductor and tapped the thin air twice. Shimmering gold flakes flew around the cheerleaders, putting them into the right mood. Halley gave her wand another tap and from out of nowhere, a loud urban pop music tempo sounded out. She nodded, looking satisfied. Lastly, Halley cleared her throat loudly, preparing to announce them. "I give you.the Hogwarts Team's mascots! Kathy Dialent leads this stunning group of ladies from all four of Hogwarts teams into one spectacular squad!" The crowd was wild with anticipation. Halley waved her hands to get their attention. "Ready, girls?" She yelled over the noise to the eight cheerleaders, poised for action. They nodded and so did Halley. "All right then, I'll start it off." Halley paused for effect. "So, remind me again, which team is the best?" Kathy was first to move to the beat of the music. She turned to face the audience and performed a move. "H: IT'S HOT IN HERRE." The next girl in line, which happened to be Cho, swung towards the audience and did the same, arm-flailing move and ended with her left hands draped on Kathy's right shoulder. "O: MY GOODNESS WE-" Ciwen took her place and yelled at the top of her lungs, "G: WE PLAY SO GOOD." Kelsey gave the crowd a dazzling smile and screamed, "W: WE ARE THE WINNERS." Emily moved swiftly, saying, "A: VICTORY FOR US!" Laura excitably followed suit, shouting, "R: WE'RE ON A ROLL." Hermione was next, speaking with a saucy attitude, "T: NO THANKS, WE GOT IT!" And Lindsay waved her left hand over her head, resting it on Hermione's right shoulder. She wrapped up the cheer, bawling, "S: SO THAT'S THE STORY!" The straight line of girls split and formed two lines of four with one in front of the other. Kathy stood in the middle alongside Hermione with one hand on their hip, while the rest of them stomped their feet on the stage in precession. "GO, GO, GO HOGWARTS, GO HOGWARTS, GO, GO, GO, TEAM!" Kathy gave one last hoot and it signaled them all to raise their pompoms over their heads. Concealed inside them were their wands. The heart- pounding music bounced to a stop and Kathy stepped was up, front and center. "GO HOGWARTS!" She yelled and all eight girls twirled their silvery pompoms in the air. The audience gave several hoots of surprise when twinkling tiny lights showered out from their wands. The atmosphere was thick with multi- coloured lights and wild cheers. "Hagrid's fairy lights came in handy." Kathy winked down at Hermione through a wide grin of success. A massive outbreak of approval spread across the total field and even into classrooms where some unlucky students who had detention on that day watched through the big windows. Some confused players from Hillfidger clapped too. Oliver was speechless. The rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team arrived in their positions looking too awed to speak. Ron was the only one talking in complete sentences. "Now that was the sensational Hogwarts Team mascots! Um.good job, Hillfidger, nice effort there. However, it was clear that the Hogwarts ladies put in just a tiny bit more soul and energy into their show. If this is only the beginning, I can't wait to see the outcome of the final match!" Ron summed up their performances. This little victory already put the Hillfidger Team on the edge. The seven players did not look as confident as they did on their arrival at the stadium. Artie smirked as Gigi stuck her tongue out at him. She also gave him a thumbs-up though, just for compensation. "Good show. Who thought of it?" Gigi asked Artie as they passed each other swiftly on the field, still roaring with applause over the cheerleaders' performance. "A friend." Artie said simply. Gigi was interested. "Ooh.which new friend up there? The short, peppy one?" Artie had no time to reply back, for they were all getting into position, but personally, he thought all the girls on stage were peppy, considering that they were performing as cheerleaders. As both teams flew into their designated spots in midair, Madame Hooch blew her sharp, silver whistle and the last and second match began. "First off, it's Hogwarts in possession, 'cuz Sarah's a quick one! She passes the ball, but wait! Blimey, the Keeper of Hillfidger, Jackie Eefyu stopped LH from scoring!" Ron announced. Laura looked confused for a second then understood. "Was he referring to me?" She asked Kathy. Casey, the Seeker on the other side looked ready to kill. Harry kept an appropriate distance away from her. She was blocking every way he was going. Harry couldn't get out of her wrath. This way, getting the Snitch was going to be extremely difficult. Meanwhile, Hogwarts had made five goals and Hillfidger scored two. Harry figured that Kathy and Laura were all pumped up after that workout. Nevertheless, he had to find the Snitch soon. "Harry! This almost happened last time! It's not the time to be a gentleman now! Smack your broom into her if you have to!" Oliver yelled from the ground. Harry considered this for a while and decided he would indeed have to take drastic action if Casey still wouldn't budge, even though he never purposely hit a girl before. Kathy, on the other hand, was playing to her limits. She had made five goals in a row now. Laura and Sarah were in good coordination with each other and made many impressive passes already. Brad and Jonathon made sure not a single Bludger could touch the girls; they were pounding the black things like their life was in the bag. Artie had worked furiously to prevent three goals from being scored. It looked as though the whole team was on a wining streak. Somehow this made Harry feel out of whack. He couldn't understand why the team was playing to superior standards when he hadn't even caught sight of the Snitch yet-let alone allowed to with Casey guarding him like a bloodhound. He felt abnormally pathetic at the thought. If Hogwarts loses this match, his dream of winning the National Quidditch Academic Competition would be shattered. It was a simple concept, Harry had to admit. Two matches, one winner. He had to find some way of getting to the Snitch before that vicious Casey girl does. Then.he saw it-a tiny flicker of golden wings zoom past him. Harry's heart almost stopped. By the time he saw it, it was too late. Casey had somehow already seen the Snitch way before him and was nearly there. Harry thrusted his broom to break the sound barrier and head for the Snitch. Casey saw him and grinned. Harry growled. She looped a nearby goal post easily and made a grab for the Snitch. He was too far behind. Even though his Firebolt outstripped her old, out-dated broom, he wasn't fast enough for her outstretched hands. Harry closed his eyes in disappointment as Casey proudly held out the beautiful Snitch in her hand. She was grinning from ear to ear and looking recklessly triumphant to have beaten him. "And.Hillfidger Seeker Casey Roberts catches the Snitch very quickly into the game! The final match of the Quidditch Academic Competition hosted at Hogwarts comes to an end. So who is the victor has won the National Competition? Let's welcome the team that beat even the other team's mascots.HOGWARTS!" The entire audience, minus ten Hillfidger spectators sitting in the stands screamed so loud, the birds and all other wild animals sprang away from the grounds. Harry cautiously opened his eyes and saw the scoreboard. Come to thing of it, he never really paid any attention to their score. He frowned, but the result of their score lightened his mood. The scoreboard read: Hogwarts-200 vs. Hillfidger-180. Harry's heart sank. He owed it to his teammates to scoring the goals, saving them and distracting the other team from scoring. Putting this out of his mind, he managed to smile. "At least we won the Cup." Harry mumbled, not being able to resist a grin. Both teams landed back onto the sweeping lush, well-manicured lawn. Kathy hugged Harry as soon as she got off her Thunder Streak. "We won the Cup! We were actually tied for a second, but you know what?" Harry tried to breathe as Kathy smothered him in her embrace. "What?" He croaked out. "Dumbledore saw our cheerleader performance and gave us twenty more points! He said labor and practice takes much more effort than just a wave of the wand, which is obviously what Hillfidger did. Isn't that awesome? WE WON THE CUP!" The rest of the team rushed over and took turns lifting players up on their back. Oliver was exalted. Madame Hooch walked gallantly towards them, holding in her hands a huge shining golden cup. "Ooh." All the girls oohed and ahhed at the beautiful prize in front of their very eyes. Madame Hooch smiled. "May this honour your wonderful achievement. A commendable job, everyone." Mr. Kinesse walked over and held the cup for a second. He passed it around in a circle, letting everyone admire it from every angle. "Look, it has all your names engraved on it in gold. Pretty nifty, huh?" His deep green eyes were twinkling. Mr. Kinesse was very proud. He just didn't say too much because he didn't want them to feel so full of themselves, just after they won and all. Kathy stroked her name. "Very nifty." She mimicked Mr. Kinesse in a friendly tone and passed it to Jonathon. Mr. Kinesse patted her on the shoulder. "And good job Kathy, on finding and personally training such talented mascots. You sure you weren't a cheerleader in your old school?" He asked, with his eyes teasing her. "I'm sure. I found that it just wasn't my thing." Kathy said with a shrug of her shoulders. "How did you guys change so fast? I last saw you two in the locker room with your sport robes on nearly four minutes before!" Harry asked her. "Magic", replied Kathy. Harry stared at her. "We had the leather cheerleader outfit on over our regular clothes, while Kathy and Laura had it on over their sport robes. After that, they just flung the robes back on." Hermione answered for her. She just couldn't miss this celebration right here, plus Hermione wanted to witness the cup up- close. Ron had come over too, but it wasn't the Cup that so interested him; he was still goggling at Hermione in black leather. The rest of the cheerleaders all hustled up to the Quidditch team too, each wanting to hold the golden fruit of their hard work. Ciwen eagerly stretched out her hands to hold the cup but almost dropped it in surprise at the enormous weight of the precious object. Brad screamed. "Whoa there! Careful with the merchandise!" He said, putting a hand to his heart. Ciwen rolled her eyes. "Those twenty points were earned by us, thank you very much. A part of this cup belongs to us, cheerleaders too, don't forget. I'm not about to break it like that, so chill." She took her time in marveling the cup's luster on the surface until Cho got impatient and asked for it. "Hold on, girl, you'll git cho turn." Snapped Ciwen, turning her back towards Cho. Kathy held back a laugh. "Seriously Ciwen, it's a piece of metal. I think you examined it long enough from every possible view." Ciwen reluctantly passed it on to Cho who took it very gingerly. "I'm so glad you asked me to be a part of this, Kathy! I was sad enough when I didn't get picked for the all-star team this year. But now I'm satisfied that I got to do this. You're a great choreographer and dancer, Kathy!" Cho gushed. Kathy's cheeks turned a rosy tint. "Aw shucks. It was only a coupla moves and words and loud music." When the cup passed back to Harry, he gazed intently at Kathy. "I know you're creative and such, Kathy.but this one thing's been buggin' me. Where did you get all the fancy costumes in such short notice? And they're in Muggle-style!" Emily pushed Kathy aside to answer in her place. "It was Trent! He helped us with all the clothes and stuff. It looked really easy when he was doing it." "It was really cool. Kathy had this one outfit she brought with her. This was the original leather tank top and skirt she had in London, by the way." Kelsey took over explaining. "So Trent was the in Slytherin Common Room on the first day that Kathy was teaching us the words and he offered to help when he saw what we were doing. Trent did a cloning spell and magicked seven exact copies according to each of our sizes!" Kelsey said, her amber eyes brightening. Kathy was about to squeeze in a word or two, when Ciwen decided to join in the conversation at that exact moment. "Yeah, and it wus tight, 'cuz he like, did this otha spell that duplicated the Hogwarts crest and printed it all on our tanks. For the shoes, they wus from Hermione. She, being Muggle-born and all that, so she's gots this pair of white clunky boots, slash tennis shoes, ya know?" Ciwen told Harry in her very urban way of talking. Kathy loved hearing her friend talk. The way Ciwen used particular words and the wrong way she used grammar was very unique, and Kathy absolutely loved it. Ciwen told her when they first met last year that she grew up in what she called it "the hood" in a very ghetto neighborhood near the London alleyways. But a rich, prosperous Scottish family adopted Ciwen and she had stayed with them ever since her eleventh birthday, living much more happily in Edinburg. The family tried hard to squash the "ghettoness" out of Ciwen, but after four long years of trying, they weren't getting very far, as far as Kathy could tell. Hermione frowned in a politely confused way. "Trent must be really advanced in all his magic skills. We don't learn cloning spells and duplicating charms until our Seventh Year. And even then, it depends on whether you're taking Charms, or not. How did he ever learn to do that?" All of them shrugged, either not knowing or not caring, or both. Hermione turned to Kathy. "And why didn't you want him to help out with our costumes when he asked? It was Kelsey who agreed for you because you just all of a sudden vanished." It appeared to Harry that Kathy was doing some very fast thinking. "I had mood swings during that time." She said sullenly. "For just those ten minutes he was with us in all?" Asked Hermione. "It.comes and goes." Said Kathy. "So, uh-Harry? You done inspecting our clothes?" Harry could sense the air of slight tenseness. "Yea, sure. Er-great job, guys, sorry, girls, again." Kathy walked over to the borders of the Forbidden Forest and remained in deep thought by herself there while Ciwen and Emily took the cup to the trophy room. A soft breeze tickled her few stray strands of reddish brown hair and she just stood there, enjoying this time off from the rustle and bustle of school and Quidditch. It was over. The competition was over and now Kathy could plan what to do about her invisible enemy and the amulet. Chapter Eighteen Artie's Confession "Good job guys! You all rule!" Yelled Oliver over and over again so that everyone on the team was getting red ears. It was after the big game and there was a magnificent party in order to celebrate the Hogwarts victory the day after. Everyone on the team was allowed to invite friends and siblings from, or out of school. Also, the whole cheerleading squad was invited. As much as Kathy loved parties, she hated this one with a passion. She thought it was over; that the Quidditch Academic Competition, having lasted so long and took so much out of her.was over. Personally, Kathy thought that Hogwarts was being a crummy winner. They just had to have this party in order to rub it in the other team's face. Oh well, it's only going to last.the whole day, she thought bitterly. Kathy gazed around the room, taking note of everyone who was there. Sarah, Emily and Cho were talking animatedly at a big table near them. Ciwen was speaking loudly to people on the Hillfidger team, as Kathy squinted, she recognized Jackie Eefyu and Gigi. Trent came too and he looked to be striding over to Artie's direction. Bored and tired, Kathy felt like talking to no one and proceeded over to an empty table and took someone's unopened butterbeer. She sat on a silver chintz chair at a small round table fit for three alone and sipped a big bottle of butterbeer that was unfortunately ephemeral-it was gone only after three seconds. Kathy went up to get another one at the beverage bar when she glanced around. She saw something that made her forget completely about butterbeer. Kathy ran over to Ron and hugged the person he was standing next to. "Fred! George! Or George, Fred! Whatever!" Kathy said, hugging each of them. Last year, Kathy spent almost all her free time joking around with them and pulling pranks on obnoxious people. She missed them a lot after they made that flawless exodus before their seventh year was up at Hogwarts and set up their joke shop in Diagon Alley. Fred removed her arm around his shoulder. "What's all this, Kathy? Who're trying to be, my girlfriend?" Kathy rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile. "Don't start that one again." Fred grinned maliciously. She just gave him an idea. It was an inside joke that Fred and George made up to tease Kathy about Draco last year, obviously, when they were going out. Whenever Draco would pass Kathy in the hallway while they were dating and Fred and George were around (which, Kathy found, that they usually were), they would holler at him "mind where you're bouncing your eyes at, mate", "talk about possessive", or "for the last time, can you please get your own girlfriend?". After the first week, it got on her nerves, but seeing that it annoyed Kathy just as much as it annoyed Draco, Fred and George were encouraged and did it non-stop even to people Kathy didn't know in the hallways. George wore an identical grin. He spotted a tall, dark, tousled-haired guy with deep green eyes and walked over to him. "Mind where you're bouncing you eyes at, mate." He said and walked away. Artie raised an eyebrow after George. Kathy slapped a hand to her forehead, totally humiliated. Hermione, Ron and Harry laughed heartily at this. "Who'd you say it to, George?" Asked Ron, between laughs. George was still grinning. "Dunno. Some tall, grumpy git who couldn't take a joke. I think he's on the team." Hermione gasped. "Wrong person to say that to." She whispered and luckily, George didn't hear her. "Yea.let's move somewhere else." Suggested Harry as he led their group away. "So anyways, good job, guys! Especially after last year." Said Fred, not sounding too happy about the Gryffindor performance the previous year. "Don't even remind me, Fred." George said empathetically. "Glad you found something better to do with your life other than Keeping, Ron." Ron looked indignant. "Hey.I was getting much better. I helped Gryffindor get the Cup last year! Tell him, Harry!" "And I caught the Snitch." Ginny came to join in the conversation. "Nice to see you two here. Charlie and Bill couldn't make it?" She commented at Fred and George's appearance. "No, they had work to do." There was an awkward silence when none of them wanted to mention Percy. Then George broke the silence by coughing loudly. "Well, anyways, good job, guys. For getting on the all-star team, and I heard that the cheerleaders did a spanking good job too." He winked in Kathy's direction. Then he said darkly. "Anyways, have you guys been hearing about weird stuff that's been going on now? Dad's been telling us there's something going on at Hogwarts and it's mighty wise if you listen to us on this. It's classified information; we're not supposed to tell anyone-" "So how do you know?" Asked Ron doubtfully, Fred grinned. "A little help from our Extendable Ears." Hermione raised an eyebrow. "And what is it that you're going to suggest to us?" "That you use your map, Harry." Advised George. Hermione was about to protest, but after thinking again.using the Marauder's Map just might be exactly what they needed. Meanwhile, Kathy was feeling a headache coming on. She felt that there was too much noise and stress right now in the Great Hall. She finished drinking the butterbeer that Fred handed her, but regretted it right after draining it. The syrupy sweet drink was making her feel nauseous and she kept bringing her hand up to her forehead unconsciously. Hermione was watching Kathy out of the corner of her eyes and her movements were very unnatural. She frowned and pulled Kathy away from their small crowd. "Hey, are you feeling all right? You know, I was thinking about your amulet last night and I think I found a lead." Kathy's first attempt was to lie to Hermione and say that she was fine, but she decided against it. "No. Actually, I feel crummy. I have a big migraine and I need some peace or something. So what do you know about my amulet? I'm not really in a good mood for analyzing data, but-" "Kathy! I think-well, I've been doing some serious thinking-and I think it's a fake! And that someone in Gryffindor has it!" Kathy stopped dead at her words. She had already guessed that, and now hearing Hermione saying the same thing that she was thinking brought the reality of it much closer. Much as Kathy wanted to talk about it with her, her head was protesting. "I'm so sorry, I really don't feel like partying right this moment so just tell the others that I'm going to puke all over them if I don't get some rest." "Tell them that you're going to what?" Asked Hermione, sounding disgusted. Kathy waved her hand impatiently. "I'll be back in my dorm. I'll see you.maybe tomorrow." Hermione let her leave unwillingly, telling everyone else that she wasn't feeling well. Kathy left, patting herself lightly on the head continuously as she made for the double-doors. Halfway down the hallways towards the Slytherin Common Room, She met someone down the way, apparently, who had been tailing her. But as Kathy was in misery, she wouldn't have noticed if a crowd of German Shepherds showed up just now. Maybe it was just that Kathy was walking slowly and occasionally stumbling, but the passage down to the her common room seemed most inconveniently long today. Kathy gave a sudden yell of pain. To her terror, the pain wasn't from the migraine. It was coming from one of her shoulders. She rubbed the top part of her shoulder, hoping to alleviate the pain. Kathy breathed a sigh of relief. The pain stopped and she felt sure now that it had nothing to do with her lightning shaped scar. It was a souvenir from the time when Verlete tried to kill her. But she didn't want to think about that right now. In recent past years, her scar wasn't hurting mostly because Verlete has been dead, but on the rare incident that it did, Kathy associated the pain with something to do with danger. She thought it served as a warning sign. Lately though, when it should have hurt, it wasn't for some strange reason. Perhaps Kathy wasn't in enough danger for it to show a warning? With almost no time to dwell on it, Kathy felt another burst of total pain on the same part of her shoulder. She screamed and felt the blackness sliding in from the sides of her eyes, obscuring her vision. Kathy tried desperately to reach for some object to hold onto, but found nothing. On top of that, she couldn't see anymore and fell into pitch-blackness, still clawing the air for something tangible. Kathy couldn't remember if she screamed again or not, but just that she was falling, falling.she closed her eyes and gave up trying to fight gravity.  
*** "Kathy? Kathy, you okay? Can you hear me?" From somewhere distant, Kathy could hear someone calling her name. Was she in a dream? "Kathy, I saw your fingers move, are you awake?" Fingers move? My fingers could always move, thank you very much. What gibberish was this person saying? "Hello? Brain still working?" The voice continued to ask these delirious questions. Kathy's head was aching; in fact, all parts of her body were in pain. Abruptly, everything came back in a flash. She remembered her scar hurting and how she fainted. So where was she now? On the floor? Eyes still heavy with drowsiness, Kathy forced them open to see whom the voice belonged to. It no longer seemed to be coming from far away. "Artie?!" A fuzzy outline of Artie came into Kathy's view. He was still wearing his Quidditch robes for the party. Slowly, his image came into focus and she found that she had been staring at him for over two minutes, almost gawking. "You're awake." Artie said; but not in the same gruff tone he usually used on Kathy. It was much softer and filled with relief. It made her all the more confused. "Um." Kathy propped herself up on her elbows with her remaining strength and looked at her surroundings. The room was round and had scarlet drapes trimmed with gold. "I'm in dor dommon room?" Kathy's voice was slurred. She still wasn't back to normal yet. Artie was a little worried. "Look, we need to talk. At least you can understand what I'm saying. No one's in the common room; it's the perfect place to discuss this." Kathy's eyes became unfocused again, rolling around absent-mindedly. Artie lifted her up on an armchair so it was easier for him to face her. He did this with much difficulty because Kathy's legs would not budge. "Ow did I dit here?" She asked again, facing him this time. "I was behind you when you fainted and so I dragged you to my common room. Sorry if I messed up your robes, but I couldn't leave you out there. People were bound to trample you. Okay, but we need to talk. It's important." Kathy's mind was processing this information with amazement. "Why do you care? You would've never cared before. What do you want anyways?" Her voice was a lot more firm and clear now that her anger was back too. "Can you shut up and let me talk? We have like, twenty minutes before other people come! The party's almost over because you wasted thirty minutes by fainting." Artie knew his mistake of blaming her right after he said it. "I mean, I don't blame you. It's okay, we'll just have to talk fast then. Okay, so I-" Kathy was up on her feet, swaying dangerously. "You kidnapped me here! You lured me away from the party where there were a lot of people and you hit me over the head with something so I had amnesia and now you want to steal the weapon!" As soon as she said that, Kathy clapped a hand over her mouth. Her memory was clearing itself and making Kathy more aware of her current situation. Artie was up on both legs too. He reached for her elbows, wanting to make sure she won't fall again, but Kathy stepped backwards, falling into the armchair instead. "It's okay, that's what I'm here to talk to you about, actually." He replied, his usually teasing green eyes a serious shade of dark green now. "What?" Kathy asked, bewildered. How would Artie know what she was talking about? "You know about what I'm trying to do?" She asked, choosing her words carefully. "Yes," he said, sounding exasperated, much to Kathy's puzzlement, "two people are here at Hogwarts and they're both looking for the amulet. One is untrustworthy, but the one is all right; I made sure of that. Or.at least I think I did the right thing." Kathy's dark brows knitted together. "All right.so you know what I'm doing. But I know something you don't." Her voice was all the while becoming firmer and less tenuous. Artie laid back in his chair, certain now that Kathy wasn't delirious anymore. "Yes?" He also sounded patient, for a change. "Mr. Kinesse, you know who he really is, don't you, or haven't you figured out all that already, Mr. Smarty-pants?" "Mr. Kinesse.?" Then a faint light dawned in his green eyes. "I thought so. But shouldn't he go a little more incognito? I mean, a new, young, American teacher.it's a tad bit obvious.." Artie said, disappointed in the otherwise, worthy surprise. Kathy was unimpressed by his deductions. "Right.and ya still didn't know." Artie was so distracted that he didn't even bother telling her off. "Let me see your amulet." This drastic change of subject led Kathy to be suspicious. "So you know about my amulet too." "Yeah, where is it? 'Round your neck?" Kathy pulled out the glittering topaz stone from beneath the folds of her black robes and held it in front of her. Artie examined it thoroughly. "This is crafted very nicely. It almost looks genuine." Breathed Artie, admiring the amulet maker's skill. Kathy sucked in a breath. Hermione was right. Her worst suspicious were confirmed. "So it really is.this is, like, a phony!" "Sorry to break it to ya, Kat. You were duped. This is nothing but a gemstone. Or your birthstone, I take it." Artie patted the upper, middle part of his chest where the slightest indication of a lump was there. Kathy eyes traced his fingers' path as they revealed the exact duplicate of her amulet. "Christ.." She ran her fingers across the exact same surface of the expertly cut orange topaz. Kathy looked into Artie's eyes. "You're sure this one's the real one?" She was whispering now. A thin, familiar beam of concentrated light shone on Kathy. It was calling out to her. Artie nodded gravely. "I was told so by my mom. It was a family heirloom. That's why." He hesitated a second, glancing at Kathy awkwardly. "Look, I don't know why the hell I'm tellin' you this, but-" "But you're going to do it anyways, because I'm a part of this and you know it!" There was a feral kind of light in her eyes and it pressed Artie to go on. He smiled feebly. "Guess you're right.somehow, I dunno how, you got dragged into my business-" Once again, Artie got interrupted. "You're darn right I'm right! Whoever said it was your business? Mr. Kinesse, let me remind you, is an elite member of the CIA and he said I would be doing this task of not letting him get it! Whoever it is!" She retorted hotly. "Of course it's my business. It's my family history we're talkin' about here. You know about roughly half of the whole situation, whatever Clark is telling you. Why do you trust him so much?" Kathy eyed him. "Clark? You call him Clark? Oh, I see, is 'Mr. Kinesse' not good enough for ya? Huh, huh?" Artie rolled his eyes vexingly, dropping his professional manner. "WHATEVER. Can we get on with this? Your levity is really annoying, you know." That shut Kathy up. She was trying to remember from her lists of vocab words in eighth grade of what levity meant. Something about.lack of proper seriousness.. Artie, satisfied that Kathy was quiet, continued in haste. "I'm trying to tell you that the person who you've been told, who you think it is that is trying to grab a hold of my amulet is not who you think it is." Kathy fiddled around with the strings on her sports robes, losing interest. "And you think you know who I think it is, I take it?" "Of course I know. It's obvious, isn't it?" Kathy snorted. "To you, obviously." She said, mocking him. "That's funny, 'cuz my friends think it's you." This shut Artie up for a good three seconds. "WHAT? They think it's me? What the f***1 do they think it's me for?" "Artie, please, all this profanity is hurting my ears-" Kathy began in a joking manner. Artie pointed an accusing finger at Kathy, who raised her wand instinctively, ready to protect herself. "Listen," he hissed virulently at her, (indeed, Kathy was listening hard), "I want you to go back quietly to your dorm and if you meet your na?ve friends along the way, tell 'em I wouldn't be stupid enough to steal my own amulet, got that?" Someone was staring at him. Artie snapped around, still pointing his wand at Kathy. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Harry, Hermione and Ron had had enough to eat, drink and talk, so they headed back to the Gryffindor Common Room. They came in through the portrait hole the exact moment that Artie was hissing at Kathy. Talk about coincidence. "Kathy! Why are-" Hermione began, then she saw Artie and fumbled in her cheerleader costume for her own wand. "It's Artie! It's him! He admitted it!" Hermione screamed. Gryffindors coming back to the common room were crowded at the entrance, muttering angrily about the holdup. Harry whipped out his wand and saw Ron do the same on the other side of him. "Put your wand down Artie, we can talk about this." Said Harry slowly. After all these years of fighting bad guys, he was starting to become an expert. It was high time he learned how to be calm in these situations. Artie took this warning the wrong way. He thought Kathy was in on this somehow and he was being set up. "I'm not the one who's after the amulet, all right?" He shouted at them. "On the contrary, I'm trying to help!" The queue at the portrait hole was staring at Artie, listening to the rubbish that he was saying. "There are people here! You can't just start screaming, Artie! Why weren't you at the party anyways? What are you doing here with Kathy?" Hermione yelled back. She took a few steps closer to Kathy, but Artie immediately focused the tip of his wand at her. Ron leapt forward. "Hermione! Point that thing away from her!" Harry grabbed unto Ron's arms in the nick of time. He was about to do something really stupid. While everyone's attention was on Hermione and Artie, no one was watching Kathy. She sneaked behind him and pointed her wand at his back. Artie felt her wand on his back and froze. "Kathy.you don't know what you're doing." Artie sounded scared. He didn't know what Kathy was going to do. "Put your wands down, guys." Kathy ordered Harry and Ron in a shaky voice that didn't sound like her usual self at all. When their wands were still aimed at Artie, Kathy began to shout. "Put down your frickin' wands! He's not going to kill any of us, so just sit down and shut up! I was talking with Artie and okay, I didn't see eye to eye with him on everything we've talked about, but at least we got to listen to what he's got to say, because believe it or not, I think he knows more about what we're doing than we do." The rest of the Gryffindors who came back from the party were staring at her with looks of amusement. "Hey.isn't she a Slytherin? What's she doing here?" Someone asked. "We need some place to talk." Said Kathy quietly, her face set. Harry lowered his wand and Ron's. Suddenly, a light lit up in his eyes. "I know the perfect spot." Harry grinned. Artie's wand was finally lowered too. They all seemed much more tranquil. "And where's that?" Harry didn't answer right away, but led them outside the common room, up a few flights of stairs and into a camouflaged room. There was a bright chandelier that lit up the vast room, covered from floor to ceiling with solid oak panels. A huge, round conference table complete with five cherry mahogany chairs was placed in the center. Kathy gazed wonderingly around. There was something familiar about this room and its location.then she remembered about the two meetings she attended last year right in this very room. "Hey! Isn't this the room of requirement?" Kathy asked, stroking the shiny surface of the beautifully polished wooden table. Harry nodded. "Yea, you were here for.two times, right? For our D.A. meetings." "Good times, good times." Commented Ron, looking fondly around the room. "So we came here to talk. So let's talk." Artie interrupted their stream of pleasant memories. "Right.we want to hear what you have to say." Said Harry, settling down in a seat next to Hermione. Kathy sat beside Ron, which left Artie with the seat of honour. "I'm innocent, all right? I know you guys deducted that I'm this lunatic who wants You-Know-Who dead so I can become the next evil guy on the block. I'm here to tell you that it's not true. And you know what else isn't true? The whole story." Chapter Nineteen According to the Plan "The story? You mean, what you just said?" Hermione asked softly, not sure if she understood him right. "Yeah, if you were even listening. The thing about the next evil dark lord; none of it is true." This wasn't assimilating in Kathy's mind successfully. She had come to accept the fact that the person who wanted Voldemort dead also wanted to take his place. There was always bound to be another power-hungry villain on the run. And now Artie's saying it's not true? "What? How the heck do you know this? You weren't a part of this until now." Harry had trouble believing his own words. What if Artie knew all along? Why else would everything he's saying be making weird sense? "Artie has the real amulet." Kathy said, startling them all. Hermione gasped. "I knew it! I knew you didn't have the real one, Kat-" "Yeah, you're darn right, 'cuz I got the baby right here." Artie showed them all the true topaz amulet. "But why would Trent give you a fake one? And then tell you 'it might come in handy'?" Questioned Hermione. Kathy was thinking the same thing, except she thought she knew the answer. "I'm not going to say anymore now, because I know you guys need real proof. I got a plan already. I just need you guys to play along with it and you can find out all you need to know. Sound fair?" Artie said with a hint of a small smile. "A plan? You've got a plan figured out already?" Asked Hermione faintly. "Sure do. But I need your word that I'm not evil and I'm not trying to kill Kathy." Artie became more serious. Harry looked to Ron, then to Hermione. "What do you guys think?" He asked. Kathy looked to be all for it. "Yeah, yeah guys, we need help right now. At least I do. He's got the amulet and that's evidence enough for me!" "Why so trustworthy all of a sudden, Kathy?" Hermione asked, concerned. "Do you guys have a plan? Do you even know what you're doing?" Kathy retorted back with another question. "Are you three in on this or not?" Artie asked again, his voice growing steadily louder. "Yeah!" Shouted Kathy. "I want some answers, gosh darn it!" "NO!" Shouted Harry. He couldn't state his exact reasoning, but his intuition was telling him to say no. Kathy turned towards Harry with a foreign look in her eyes. It looked a little more serious than just plain annoyance. "I've been wandering around in the dark ever since Mr. Kinesse told me about what he wants to do and who he really was. I've been feeling paranoid, pathetic and diffident. I wanna take control of this, if I'm going to do it! Artie knows what he's in, he said he can help us step by step! I don't know for sure if he's telling the truth; but then again, I'm not sure of anything right now. It's time to do something about it." Kathy said, her vulnerability dangerously exposing itself. Hermione was aghast at the news. "Kathy, calm down! Even if you're feeling panic-stricken, you can't just trust everyone in sight! Especially the person we think is a danger to you!" Hermione cast a dark glance at Artie, who was seething with impatience. "I have a plan and it's going to work! C'mon Kathy, tell them I'm not a frickin' power-loving retard!" Artie made a sudden, violent move towards Kathy but Hermione ran to her too. In truth, he wasn't about to attack her or anything; Artie just wanted to talk to her privately first. "Just for your information, we have a plan too!" Hermione boldly declared, the back of her chair shaking because she was holding it for support. Harry and Ron stood up beside Hermione, ready to fend for their friend if it was necessary. "What plan?" Harry hissed in her ear so only Hermione could hear him. "You'll see." Hermione hissed back. She strode over to Kathy and pulled her gently back from Artie's direction. "You're not the only person who can see in the dark. We know what we're in on as well. We know what we're up against. Kathy, our plan is already organized and very safe. We'll tell you everything tomorrow morning. Everything's in order." Hermione replied in a surprisingly resolute voice that resembled nothing of the nervous look on her pale face. Kathy looked timidly from Artie to Hermione and smiled a relieved smile. Hermione hated to lie to her like this but it was going to protect her for at least more than one day. "Seriously? You guys have got a plan? You've been formulating in secret?" Kathy asked quietly, apparently too relieved to speak any louder. Ron nodded firmly several times to confirm her thoughts. Kathy cracked a nervous smile at them. "Thanks Artie. We've got it though." Artie worked his face furiously, trying to think of the best thing to say against Hermione. He had a strong feeling that they were only bluffing, but how could he make Kathy see that too? "Okay." He said, his teeth clenched together. "Don't listen to me. But whatever the heck you end up doing.don't go to Mr. Kinesse." "Bye Artie." Kathy said and she left with Hermione, Ron and Harry through the door of the room of requirement. "Damn it, you people! Fine, FINE. Get yourselves killed! And get the world killed in the process while you're at it! Just remember, a little bird by your window named Artie Brews once told you how to avoid this!" He screamed contemptuously after them. Hermione had her arm around Kathy protectively. The four took a turn and went to the library. Harry gave Hermione an awkward look. With Madame Pince around, they weren't exactly going to get the privacy that they were hoping to get in there. But Hermione didn't even glance back as she made her way across to the deeper, darker part of the library. It was approaching evening and lanterns were lit along the bookshelves in midair. Ron's mouth went slack as he realized where they were. He looked incredulously at Hermione. "We're in the Restricted Section, Hermione." Hermione had a metallic glint in her eyes. "I'm glad you took notice. But as the party still has an hour left to go, no one is likely to be here, spying on us. We only need a few minutes, anyways. Just to let me explain our course of action." Kathy was feeling slightly queasy. Was Hermione lying? Did she really have a plan? Harry stole a glance at Hermione. Whenever she was on a rage similar to this, she was particularly adamant and nothing anyone said would make the least change. Just to be sure though, Harry ventured a question. "So what's our 'course of action'?" Hermione took a seat right on the carpeted flooring. Soon, Kathy, Harry and Ron all sat themselves in a circle and huddled close to a lantern glowing above them. "We know where the real amulet is and who has it. Therefore, we're not in a complete hurry to stop whoever's after it. And-" Kathy had to interrupt. Did this mean what she thinks it means? "Does this mean that you don't think it's Artie anymore?" Hermione fell silent for a few seconds. "I can't really be certain yet.but it does make sense, doesn't it? Why would you steal your own amulet? But.I still don't want to leave something this important all up to him. We're not exactly inexperienced at this kind of stuff anyways. So here's what we're going to do. The day after exams, (which gives us a week and a half left since it's the end of May), Kathy's going to alert Mr. Kinesse. You two are going to his Potions dungeons because it would allow you guys the most privacy. Meanwhile, Harry's going to get his Marauder's Map out and he's going to lure Artie into the dungeon too. There, with Mr. Kinesse, you can confront him, take the amulet and use it to stop V-Voldemort. We'll know if you'll need help because of the Map." A stunned silence followed her strategic thinking. It definitely wasn't going to be as easy as Hermione put it. Kathy was chewing her lips and fidgeting around, trying to bring up something else. "What do you guys think?" Asked Hermione. "There's something else I never talked to you about." Kathy began. "All this secrecy!" Sighed Ron. "I know, I know, I should've mentioned it earlier. But I told Mr. Kinesse at least, and he agrees with me!" "What?" Asked Harry. "I think it's Trent." Harry made eye contact with Ron and both stared at Kathy. Hermione was first to protest. "It can't be! I thought you two were friends! And, and how clever and polite he always is.Kathy, I don't think-" "That's exactly why though! He's too perfect; it's not natural. He gave me the amulet-" "He probably didn't know it was fake, or what it really does. How could you- " Hermione argued. "Yes, yes! I was getting to that! He gave me a fake one so I could be fooled, which gives him a free rein to snatch the real one from Artie!" Hermione lapsed into silence, thinking. "So if it's Trent." Harry said, catching on. Hermione quashed this idea. "We can't come to any conclusions just now! If you really think it might be him, Kathy, Harry can lure him into the dungeons too. Just to check on your theory, that is." Hermione added quickly, with disagreement written across her face. Ron paled. "Hermione, I don't think that's a good idea.what if he just finishes off Kathy in the dungeon? He's too smart already, Trent could easily make it look like an accident." Hermione paled too. "I-I didn't think of that. And if it's Artie.he could very well do the same to you!" She cupped her chin, brows furrowed, pondering again. "So what are we going to do? And how's Harry going to lure them into the dungeon? They're not that stupid to fall for a trick, are they?" Kathy screamed. "Oh, we already solved that one accidentally. Harry was talking to us yesterday about it." Hermione brushed that aside, feeling that it wasn't the pressing matter right now. Kathy was mildly surprised. "What? So how are you going to do it?" Harry had a small smile playing on the corners of his mouth. "Kathy, can I see the wand Dumbledore gave you for winning second place at the Halloween party?" *** "So, wait.how did you know this?" "You know that night when Neville got a new toad?" Ron asked Kathy. "No.but go on." Kathy said, feeling doubtful about this plan of theirs. "Well, the new wart-face didn't like his dorm. So he bounces around in the common room at night and it annoyed everyone, so Neville finally found a cure." Ron said, pausing slightly to look at Kathy. "It was totally spontaneous. He had the wand he got from the Halloween party, the same one as yours, and it was lying on top of his bed, pointing in his toad's direction one day. The toad immediately went into a stupor and leapt silently unto his bed, next to the wand. So we figured it was a lure wand- well, Hermione figured that 'cuz she's read about them in one book or another, but the point is.you have one too." Ron smiled at her, making Kathy feel like this plan could actually work. "So can I borrow it?" Asked Harry timidly. "Uh-sure.." Kathy answered, not getting over the change of events yet. This was all too fast. "Does Artie have to be lured down too then?" "We don't know if it's him, though." "I'm sure! It's not him, really. My intuition tells me it's Trent, so let's just leave Artie out of this." Insisted Kathy. Hermione and Harry exchanged nervous glances. "Are you sure you-" Harry started. He didn't want to leave any loose ends untied around the school. "Yes." Kathy cut him off. "All right then.if you're sure. Remember, if you're in trouble, we'll know right away and come. But if we go in there with you, it's a dead giveaway." Harry told her. "Yes, yes, I know. It's okay. Mr. Kinesse will be there too." Kathy assured him. Ron spoke up shakily. "It's settled then?" Hermione answered just as shakily. "Guess so." Harry turned to Kathy, whose head was hung. "Good luck."  
*** It was one day before final exams. Hermione, Harry and Ron kept shooting furtive glances at Kathy during Potions. She didn't look too nervous, Harry told himself. Maybe this was going to work out all right. Besides, they were going to catch her enemy, putting an end to this whole ordeal. Nighttime came all too fast. Kathy silently took her camouflage cloak, (similar to an invisibility cloak, only it camouflaged the wearer instead of making them totally invisible), tipped the others off and headed down straight to Mr. Kinesse's office. Kathy drew in deep, unsteady breaths as she tiptoed to her destination, knowing whom she was about to face in a few moments. Her confidence rose a few notches as she saw Mr. Kinesse's face. "Mr. Kinesse! It's me, we have to go down to the dungeons, I'll explain later." Kathy removed her cloak, folded it neatly under her arms and led Mr. Kinesse down towards his own classroom. To Kathy's relief, he didn't ask a single question. He seemed to have guessed the importance of this and decided not to interrupt her course of action, making it go much smoother. The dark, dank, stonewalled room was lit instantly by Mr. Kinesse from a wave of his wand. "So it's true; you don't have the real amulet." He figured as they waited for Trent to arrive. It wasn't even a question-more like a statement. Kathy had filled him in on this subject already, making Mr. Kinesse extremely up to date. "Yes, you won't believe who really has it, it's-" "Who? Who really has it?" Mr. Kinesse asked frenetically. But the look on Kathy's face also silenced him. Someone unexpected came to join them.  
*** Harry slipped on his invisibility cloak and tucked Kathy's prize wand inside his own robes. He quickly found Trent in the library, pouring over books and wearing a deep frown. Getting ready, Harry carefully took out the miniature wand and slipped it through a tiny crack through the opening of his cloak. This made the tip of the wand visible and nothing else. So it was a recklessly strange sight to anyone who might catch a glimpse of it. That was why Harry had to be extra careful. Feeling very much grateful that he, Trent and Madame Pince were the only ones in the library at this time, Harry directed the point of the wand directly at Trent and felt his gaze on it lock. Harry then guided Trent's attention away from the books and led him cautiously down to the dungeons. "It's working!" Harry said quietly to himself. Job completed, Harry snatched the wand out of Trent's view and into the mass of his cloak. Trent snapped out of the trance and observed his surroundings with wide eyes. Harry hurried back to Hermione and Ron, jogging at breakneck speed back to the common room. Hermione and Ron were perusing the map. So far, things were going on as according to plan. Then something else happened. Hermione was looking at the map and let out a low moan. "What?" Asked Ron, concerned. Hermione just pointed at the map. Ron stared at it. The name in the dungeon other than Kathy's, Mr. Kinesse's and Trent's, jumped out at him. Chapter Twenty "Artie?!" There were a total of five voices that uttered the name in unison, though in different locations. "What are you doing here?" Kathy shouted in confusion. "I would like to know the same thing." Said Trent, calculatingly. "I told you, I can handle this thing alone, you didn't need to tag along." The second sentence was almost a hiss. Kathy looked from Trent to Artie, trying to read between the lines. Mr. Kinesse narrowed his deep green eyes. "What are you doing down here?" He pointed a finger to Trent. Trent didn't answer at first. Artie's wide, boyish green eyes dilated with frustration and puzzlement. He moved towards the back of Kathy and spoke in a hurry. "I'll explain everything. That's what I'm here for, and this time, Kathy, don't run on me. You're gonna stay for the whole thing." Kathy crossed her arms. "This is a nice conference." She commented, glancing around at Trent, Mr. Kinesse and Artie with a raised eyebrow. "I want to settle this myself. Artie, you're the exact guy I wanna see." Mr. Kinesse said, though not in his usual friendly attitude. His tone was darker and filled with a hint of gleefulness that Kathy had never heard before. Kathy wasn't sure if she understood the thread of things right now. "Wait.Mr. Kinesse, you told Artie to come here to meet us?" Mr. Kinesse didn't give her a straight answer. "And you told Trent to meet me down here?" This still wasn't assimilating into her mind. "Yeah, so we can figure what the heck's going on! He's the guy! He's the guy who's after the amulet and- " Kathy blurted. She couldn't take it anymore; all this suppressing of emotion and epiphanies. She had to say what was all on mind all this time. She really did think it was Trent. Trent's deep bronze eyes softened and then hardened. "I do seem the type, don't I? He gazed at her intently, piercing her with his X-ray stare. Kathy looked to Mr. Kinesse for confirmation. "He's it! I'm been doing some serious thinking and I know for a fact-he's always so mysterious and subtle and smart.don't you think so?" Kathy turned to Artie too. "So it justifies the fact that I want you dead and all the other Muggles, or half-bloods? C'mon Kathy. I thought you had more sense than that." Said Trent with a half-smile. "Shut up! Let me finish! I was talking to Mr. Kinesse!" Kathy ran her fingers through her reddish brown hair. Mr. Kinesse stopped her flow of words by sighing heavily. "He has nothing to do with this. At least, less than you would think, Kat." Mr. Kinesse said, pinching the bridge of his straight nose and surveying Kathy's _expression with amusement. "What?" Kathy asked faintly. "More than you think." Said Artie suddenly. "I just want the amulet and this whole thing can be over, all right, guys? I knew Artie or Trent had it in the first place. I just didn't know which one, actually. They both went to Hillfidger. I was assigned there first, but they somehow got wind of a CIA agent working there and signed a contract with Hogwarts overseas. Over three thousand miles to be exact." Said Mr. Kinesse with a hint of bitterness to his usual pleasant voice. Kathy bit her lip by accident in shock. What was this coming to? How could Mr. Kinesse be here, sprouting out these impossible reasons for her to believe? How could she trust anyone anymore? "So I packed my stuff and headed to England in order to get it. This time, though, I didn't have the advantage I started out with. I was pursuing someone on unfamiliar grounds and I still didn't know which one had the real thing. Thus, I had to enlist the help of the middleman. "So our intelligence agency dug up some info and found that a certain student who was known to have unconsciously defeated Verlete was miraculously, at Hogwarts. They found out that the amulet was supposed to answer to her alone because God-knows-why, and then.bingo. She'll report to me and I'll get the amulet and help save the world." Kathy shook her head. She didn't want to believe it. He lied to her. Three quarters of what he told her was a lie. He didn't want to protect her at all. He wanted to use her. And there was nobody in school who wanted to hunt her down. Artie and Trent were trying to get away from Mr. Kinesse! So that's why Trent gave Kathy the amulet in the beginning of the year. He was hoping she would show it to Mr. Kinesse and he would think that she had it. This was all making strange sense now.. "We're not the bad guys, Kathy." Said Artie. "I've been trying to convince your friends that it wasn't me and I had a hunch that you would think it's Trent. We tried not to make it too obvious that us too knew each other, or Mr. Kinesse would have a much easier time tracking us down. We went incognito by I dying my hair dark brown and Trent wore coloured contacts with a fake pair of glasses." "I have a question though. How did you guys know it was me? You weren't supposed to know the first time when I started chasing you two. I mean, you could've gotten so far as to pinpoint it down to the CIA, 'cuz we were making some big announcements in NYC.but really, how?" Asked Mr. Kinesse. Artie smirked. "That was Kathy. I only found out not too long ago when I had the chat with her." Mr. Kinesse laughed mirthlessly. "All right, Kat. D'ya get things now? I hope I wasted enough time filling you in on the latest." He faked a yawn and made a move towards Artie. "Hand it over, kid." Artie raised his arm defensively. Kathy ran between them. "Artie! But if you hand it to him, wouldn't the CIA just use it against Voldemort? All this time, I thought Trent was the bad guy and before I thought it was him, I thought a bad guy was out to get me anyways. But don't you all realize something? There is no bad guy here! We're all on the same side! We're all trying to get rid of Voldemort, right?" Kathy flailed her arms up and down, trying to make them see the big picture. "Isn't Mr. Kinesse going to do us-the whole world-a big favour?" Mr. Kinesse began clapping. "Thank you very much, Kathy. You summarized that very nicely for me. Couldn't have said it better myself. We're all working on the same side. It's very logical. Don't you want the world to be safe?" "That's 'cuz you're too arrogant to get it. You and your agency are too self-absorbed in what you're doing to actually step off from your throne and see it from another person's point of view. It's called 'empathy'. And you ain't got it." Artie spat at him. He made the otherwise noble speeches from Kathy and Mr. Kinesse sound like garbage in a can. Mr. Kinesse had to pause and organize his argument for a few seconds. Just enough to regroup. "That's not true. We're doing it for the good of the country. And all the other countries. Voldemort's at large. We want to stop him. HOW? With the weapon. We can use it to block any curse or spell thrown at us and still succeed. Don't you see? IT'S GOOD." Trent immediately had a comeback to shoot back. "That's the thing. It's too powerful. It's too good. The weapon itself is too hard to control. It's not like you're the only one who knows what it can do. It's a wonderful device; I know that. Artie knows that. It's his. It's only been a family heirloom for so long because his family wasn't reckless enough to use it. No one can yield it. Even if you're using it for a good cause, the amulet won't know. It can only do what it was designed to do. And that is to conquer and destroy." Mr. Kinesse was losing his patience. "I cannot believe that I'm having this conversation with a bunch of sixteen year-olds. I'm sick of having to actually explain in length about what my plans are. I really don't give a damn now if you guys will cooperate with me or not. I'm taking it now and I'll stand here and laugh to see you two try and stop me." "What if we destroyed it?" Artie took a different approach to this. Mr. Kinesse sneered at him. "Nice try.but no. Like you have the guts and the skill to do that! The amulet can't just be 'destroyed'; only the creator of the amulet knew the spell to do it and as far as I'm concerned, none of y'all knows him. So um, no, you couldn't break it apart if you wanted to. "Another thing I want to get straight-as for you, Kathy, I'm not blaming you. You led me in the right direction and for that, you'll get credit once the CIA annihilates Voldemort's stronghold. I'm warning you, this is a guy's thing, so run while you can and don't look back." Mr. Kinesse whipped out his wand and stabbed it in Artie's direction. Kathy's face flushed. After all the worried, confused, and repressed thoughts she had to endure about her "mission", this was the thanks she got? Oooh no. She balled up her fists and grasped her wand so firmly that her knuckles turned white and clammy. "Don't say I didn't warn you about Lord of the Rings. I guess the chickens have come home to roost finally. You're gonna end up just like Boromir. I told you." Mr. Kinesse barely heard her. "Look, this is no place for a little girl. I am fully aware that I lied to you about having to protect you. But the truth is.you're not worth protecting, so.why waste my precious time? Saying that, everything else should be clear. Now scram." Kathy's mouth was open. She couldn't help it. What did he just say to her? Oh no he didn't. "Wanna run that by me again?" She was waving her wand playfully at him. Mr. Kinesse sneered. "Isn't once already enough, or do I have to get physical? But then again, you're not the one I want. Fork it over, Artie. NOW." Artie made a move towards the exit, but stopped at the opening, and grinned back at Mr. Kinesse. "I have the amulet. It's just you and me. Let's leave them out of this. It's no use talking any sense into you anyways. So catch me if you can." Mr. Kinesse ran to the opening too and swung his wand down. "Accio amulet!" The glittering topaz necklace raced through the air before landing neatly in his hands. A look of cold triumph was etched in his handsome features. Mr. Kinesse smirked so wide it ought to have been fined.  
  
Kathy screamed. "He's got the amulet! He's-" "Get outta the way, Kathy." Trent grabbed her outstretched arm and pulled her behind him. "I'm going to try my hand at him." Artie stationed himself beside his friend and both raised their wands threateningly. Kathy was feeling indignant. Whoever told them that girls couldn't fight? She crept up next to Trent when he was straight ahead and unfortunately, it was the same time that Mr. Kinesse chose to let loose a spell. "Relashio!" "Ah!" Someone fell to the cold stone ground. Artie knelt down. "Kathy! You idiot, why didn't you stay back? His aim was directed at me!" He forced the long black sleeve of Kathy's robe upwards and saw an angry red slash on her pale skin. "Collission!" The force of Trent's knockout spell sent Mr. Kinesse sprawled on the ground. Kathy cheered. Mr. Kinesse got up hastily and scowled. "I forgot that your specialty was dueling. I saw you at it in school. But no matter, I am, after all, still a CIA agent." "Nice one, Trent!" She beamed at him, her hand still clutching her wrist. Artie looked disapprovingly at her. "Stop dodging spells for me. I can take a little pain. I don't need a little girl to risk it." Artie said without looking at her and got into a ready position. Kathy frowned. "Why don't you stop being a jerk and a hero? This is every bit my business as it is yours. I'll little girl you." She pulled up her sleeves and aimed her wand at Mr. Kinesse. It was three to one. Albeit three adolescents against a professional CIA agent. "Blemiccius!" Kathy cried. Mr. Kinesse performed a spiral wand movement and produced a cloudy cover that rebounded the charm. Trent had an idea. "That's not a bad idea, Kathy. We can use the obscuring charm to manipulate his vision. One the count of three, Artie, come on." Mr. Kinesse whispered something to his wand to distract them. He then directed the beam of light at Kathy. "What the-" Kathy's robes felt like they weighed a ton. She tried to move her arms but they wouldn't obey her wishes. "What the heck?! What kind of spell was that?" Kathy wiggled around her leaden robes and discovered that they were the source of her burden. Mr. Kinesse must have bewitched them to make her immobile so he can have a clear shot at Artie. "Blemiccius!" Trent and Artie screamed in unison. Mr. Kinesse had already constructed his cloudy cover again, but the two spells yelled together did what it could not alone. The hazy guard shattered and the yellow beam of light from Trent's and Artie's wands pierced through. Mr. Kinesse, in a rage, threw the amulet in the air. The spell hit him and instantly shadowed his vision. Even under these conditions, Mr. Kinesse managed to catch the amulet by its silver chain from repeatedly groping the air. He pointed his wand tip at Kathy, but thinking it was Artie, Mr. Kinesse smiled in a dazed fashion. "What now? I got the amulet even with the influence of your spell. Sorry, boys. Game over, so go home-and Artie, you can break the sad news to your whole family. It's an heirloom, I know. But it's the property of the CIA now. Trust me, guys, I'm doing a good thing for everyone here." He grinned groggily again and made another step towards Kathy. "And one more thing-I can't exactly have you two running around, telling everyone my true identity. So that leaves one option. To send you guys away locked in a nice padded cell in America, under the CIA's control and to mind wipe Kathy. A thorough memory charm should do the job fine. But uh- honey, your IQ could take dip because that's a pretty big event I'm going to have to make you forget. Oh well, at least you're better off than these two smart alecs over here. Adios, amigos." Mr. Kinesse's hand shook violently as he tried to focus his wand. Kathy froze-not because she was too scared to do anything, but because she couldn't do anything else. Her ten-ton black robes almost swallowed her tiny body as she made raw attempts of getting loose. Trent was making some fast decisions in his head. They had two advantages against Mr. Kinesse. One, it was three against one. But that advantage could hardly count as Mr. Kinesse was probably used to subduing the most ingenious criminal masterminds. Well, unto advantage number two: their vision was clear. Applying that into his freshly formulated plan, Trent decided to take action right then and there. Not many sixteen years olds could have endeavored upon this particular task, not to mention even pondering it in their minds. But Trent was made of tougher stuff and he had gone through training not many teenagers went through before. So in a sense, he had a good chance of succeeding whatever he was doing. Mr. Kinesse squinted his apple green eyes and opened his mouth. "I'm gonna send you home, Artie. Lemme know if the food they serve in the CIA prison is better than this British Hogwarts crap." Before Mr. Kinesse could continue into his plan, Trent ran headlong into Mr. Kinesse and it was that moment when he chose to perform the spell on Artie, or Kathy, that is. In a thick puff of purple smoke, Trent tumbled into Mr. Kinesse, causing him to strike both of them in the confusion and rumble. Kathy gasped. Artie stared. Mr. Kinesse gave an agitated moan. "You little son of a bit-" Trent purposely fell on top of him to shut him up just when he got on his feet. "You gave me the phony! You gave me Kathy's damn birthstone! Where the heck is the real one?" Mr. Kinesse finally shoved Trent off and surveyed the dungeon with a feral light in his eyes. Trent was holding his left wrist. From what Kathy could see from her point of view, it had an angry burn on it. He also looked disconcerted. She understood it quicker. Kathy forcefully dragged her arm up her neck. She had to know if it was true. Cringing from the effort of lifting up her arm, Kathy felt that certain place on her neck and found that the amulet was missing. "Trent! My amulet! It's, it's-" Trent looked at Artie and began to understand things too. He hastily dismissed the burn on his wrist and opened up his hand. Trent smiled, satisfied that he got what he wanted. "Yo, Mr. Kinesse! Oh, I get it.is this what you wanted all along?" Artie said, his voice dripping with honey and bantering tones. He dangled the real amulet on its sterling chain and swung it back and forth like a pendulum. Kathy noticed that Mr. Kinesse's eyes were following the trail of the amulet incessantly. "Obsessive compulsive." Kathy muttered under her breath. She looked anxiously at Artie. What wonderful stratagem was he going to have this time? If he could take the amulet from Kathy's neck while having to unclasp it at the same time, you needed some skill. She couldn't help but trust both guys. It was this precise moment that Kathy felt one hundred percent sure of herself and why she was here. She had been wandering around in the dark for some time now. Time to haul herself out and see clearly. With Trent and Artie behind her, she wasn't scared anymore. She had an inkling of what their plan would be a little while ago when Artie foreshadowed it by stating something. Now was her chance to chip in and follow her instinct. Kathy tasted sweet confidence that day. "Oh, Mr. Kinesse. I think you forgot something." That slightly unfocused look was still lingering in his eyes, which meant that the spell had a way to go before it wore off completely. "What do you want?" He snapped, his eyes remained glued to the amulet Artie was displaying. "The amulet is Artie's family heirloom. His own mother gave it to him." Kathy said. From the corner of her eyes, she witnessed Trent giving her an encouraging smile. Mr. Kinesse seemed to find this piece of old information trifling. "What does that have to do with-" "You said that the only way to destroy the amulet was in a spell that the creator knew himself. Unless someone personally knew him, the spell was never known. But it just so happens to be my family heirloom and it also happens that the creator was one of my great, great, great grandpa. Therefore, one of my family members knew him." Artie continued to say what Kathy was getting to. Mr. Kinesse was silent, his eyes were darting from Artie to the amulet now. "But you shouldn't, you wouldn't-"" Mr. Kinesse began weakly, thinking the impossible. "I could." Interrupted Artie savagely. "Each member of our family who has had the amulet also passed the spell along to each new successor. And fortunately.I still remember the spell." Mr. Kinesse had stopped gawking at the amulet and was now gawking at Artie.  
  
"But that's crazy, that's insane! It's the world's greatest weapon! The power to withstand any force and to block any spell thrown at you! Why would you want to bust up such a thing, you idiot!" Artie snorted. "Like I would feel so much more safe at night knowing that a bunch of government service agents have the world's most powerful weapon in hand. Save it, Kinesse. Welcome to reality." Artie reached for his wand but it turned out to be a bad move. He had put his wand in a deep fold of his robes while taking out the amulet. 


End file.
